Paul Ryan was toast at the vice-presidential debate. Maybe right-wingers live in an altered reality most of the time – and we know they do – but the most tone-deaf, partisan, right-wing zealot knows what happened Wednesday night. Paul Ryan got his butt handed to him.

So after the initial sour grapes snark from the right-wing punditry about Biden’s smiling, his interruptions, his supposed unprofessionalism, the right found a new spear to throw: Biden wasn’t just being Biden, Biden was being Biden the Town Drunk.

When Fox ran out of ways to protect the golden boy Ryan (when they determined it was hopeless), after they’d media-mauled, after they’d gloated about their poll showing a clear Ryan win, Fox launched the smear that Biden was drunk at the debate: Huckabee alluded to it, Hannity brought it up, Eric Bolling and Greg Gutfeld Tweeted it. Dutiful little soldiers, all.

Mitt Romney doesn’t drink coffee. President Obama likes a beer. Paul Ryan likes wearing his caps backward while flexing his muscles for Time Magazine. But here’s the thing: Joe Biden doesn’t drink. At all.

It’s the classic best defense/good offense routine, except they forgot the cardinal rule – a rule, incidentally, that came out of Joe Biden’s mouth during the debate.

“Facts matter, Martha . . . Facts matter.”

Notw to Fox. They might get in the way of a good narrative.

Julie Driscoll

Smoking Hot Politics

Posted: Saturday, 13 October 2012