Column: One memorable veep debate

• Vice presidential debates are more entertaining.
• These candidates are loyal water carriers and attack dogs for their parties.
• That pressure cooker makes for some very memorable exchanges.

One undeniable quirk of American democracy is this: our vice presidential debates are much more entertaining and than our presidential dust-ups.

Vice presidential debates make for better television because of the role the vice president and vice presidential hopefuls are expected to play.

As loyal water carriers and attack dogs for their parties, vice presidential debaters work within serious constraints. They must defend the sometimes indefensible plans and the records of their running mates. They have little room to innovate, not a whole lot of preparation, and they only get one shot at it.

That pressure cooker makes for some very memorable exchanges.

Few people who watched Dan Quayle's evisceration at the hands of Lloyd Bentsen, Jack Kemp's comically bad performance vs. Al Gore, Dick Cheney's icy calm demeanor as he dismantled Joe Lieberman and John Edwards', or Sarah Palin's high-wire act as they competed for the first time on a national stage, will ever forget them.

Thursday's debate, between Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential hopeful Rep. Paul Ryan, again showed why these contests are so much fun. At one point Biden came whisker close to swearing into a live mic. Biden called what Ryan had just said "a bunch of stuff."

Moderator Martha Raddatz asked what, exactly he meant by "stuff," and Ryan came in for the save and the laugh: "He's Irish."

In contrast to President Obama's almost catatonic performance in Denver last week, Biden was animated and forceful. He gave as full-throated a defense as one could possibly mount of the Obama administration's foreign and economic record. He also did everything he possibly could to tear down the Republicans, painting them as plutocrats who only care about the concerns of the very rich.

Ryan had to fight against what he has called his "inner Jack Kemp," a tendency toward too much budget wonkery. He was accidentally assisted by Biden, who kept interrupting him with words, sounds and gestured. Ryan was also helped by the constraints of his role. He had to defend the Romney Outline, not the highly specific decades-long Ryan Plan that he came up with in Congress.

The best moment of the night came after Biden charged that Romney had written off 47% of Americans in a secret speech. Ryan called the 47% line a misstatement by his running mate. Ryan explained: "The words don't always come out the right way. You know how that is, Joe."

Before he could move back into the political fray, our gaffe-prone vice president had to force himself to stop grinning from ear to ear.

Jeremy Lott is the editor of RealClearReligion.org and RealClearBooks.com and author of The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency.

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