Will Paul Ryan be able to beat Joe Biden in the presidential and vice-presidential debates?

The Associated Press newswire recently announced that Paul Ryan would be the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States of America.  I followed the discussion on Google Plus, the usual online hang-out for the intelligentsia of the Internet.  Tempers flared; although Republican voters kept their head on straight, there was no shortage of vulgar name-calling and disinformation on the Democrat side.  The discussion was a bit convoluted, and sometimes answers came before the questions.  Here is where I document the discussion; names are not included for privacy, and some of the worse spelling errors have been corrected by an impartial panel of proofreaders broken down by age and sex, i.e., yours truly, since there is nobody on God's green Earth that hasn't been more broken down by age and sex.

"Now I know Mitt can't win. Ryan is like a third rail." Do you mean Mr Ryan is absolutely essential, or that he can be dispensed with?  If you mean the latter, I think you wanted to say "fifth wheel", as a car doesn't need a fifth wheel, but any train that isn't a steam engine needs a third rail, which supplies electromotive power to the engine. -- Ed.


"Here's a real dyed-in-the-wool brown shirt brown-noser!  He can sniff up a storm, plays every opportunity to the extreme, stalls, withholds aid ... [from] people in need & will sacrifice his country to a cult member with big shoulders that gets its operatives from Salt Lake City & the
Mormon brotherhood—heaven isn't heaven in the Book of Mormon. Thank God for all those young Mormon girls to fill their harems...on earth, not in Paradise, American Taliban."  "Actually, I was going to vote for Mitt because he has excellent Mormon values and can bring jobs to the masses in countries that obviously need the income. Some people will become so much richer than they already are when he takes office in 2013. Even if it were actually true that Obama had anything to do with the death of Osama bin Laden, he wasn't the one to actually PULL the trigger. Mitt would've done it, though. ... My vote: Romney!"

"Ahahahahahah.  Congratulations on your reelection, Mr. Obama."  "It's a risky move. It could reinvigorate Romney's campaign or have it fall flat on its face." "Paul Ryan is a far-right whackadoodle who will ruin the country."  "This is a very good choice ... Paul Ryan is a very solid [candidate]. He is all business and this is just what this country needs. I am sure the Obama administration does not like this [...] I know for a fact Ryan is not liked very much in the White House." "Good choice. If he upsets the left this much, then he is the guy to go with."

"Awesome! Paul Ryan is a guy who actually has the courage to deal with the nearly insurmountable fiscal problems this country has." "Absolutely true.  This guy has more knowledge of the budget in 1 finger than the entire Oministration.  I like the call." "Ryan is a perfect choice. He will keep people talking about what Obama does not want to talk about: the economy."

"Are you Americans even thinking about electing [anyone] other than Obama... come on! [...] After years that led you exactly where you are and finally making the curve, [you're] now thinking about going back there again?" "I simply cannot comprehend how anyone can truly believe that Obama has been anything but a disaster.  Makes me pessimistic of our future as a country, honestly."

"Are the Republicans trying to lose? I think if they tried harder they could have found bigger losers to run. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit though." "This is a great pick. Ryan will wipe the floor with Biden during the debates, just as Romney will to Obama. The problem is that most Americans are too ignorant and caught up in who's the latest Idol winner to care."

---"It is hard to imagine what economy would be worse than this. I mean there is Greece, Spain, Italy, and our own Great Depression. It looks to me that President Obama has us well on our way to all of those. He can still blame everyone else for that and most will believe him."