Timmy Donohue was taken aback by Joe Biden’s smiling and smirking during Thursday’s debate. (Ron Sachs – CNP)
RICHMOND – There’s a debate brewing at the Three Monkeys Bar and Grill smack in the middle of battleground Virginia – over whether Vice President Biden smirked too much for his own good in last night’s prime time debate with Paul Ryan.
“It’s hard for me to take Biden seriously. [Ryan’s] been stone cold the whole time, and Biden’s been laughing at him the whole time,” said Timmy Donohue, who is studying to be a teacher and says he plans to vote for Obama.
Patrons gathered at one of Richmond’s favorite watering holes last night just a few miles from where Mitt Romney campaigns today to watch the two candidates for vice president face off in the latest high stakes political battle of the year.
Throughout the debate, it was Biden’s jokes, facial expressions, and sharply articulated attacks that drew the most attention among a diverse group of patrons who are closely following the elections.
“He shouldn’t be smirking. He got maybe ten sentences out before he started sarcastically smiling. You need to be respectful. If you’re right, you don’t need to smile like that,” said Mike Stubbe, a Republican who investigates credit card fraud.
Even as Biden and landed a series of blows on Ryan and delivered several forceful lines that President Obama had let slip in his own debate contest, his demeanor cost him some points with potential supporters.
“I felt like Biden – he just seems very smug,” said Georgina Antele, a dental assistant who is a Democrat but says she’s still undecided about her vote.
But several of Biden’s hits seemed to have an effect, like when he told Ryan: “These guys bet against America all the time.”
“I think Ryan’s too green, and I think it showed tonight,” said Hunter Smith, a Republican who works in sales. “We all know Biden’s a bulldog. We all know he wants to come in and address all the issues [Obama] didn’t address.”
Shawna Barkhurst, a student and part-time bartender who votes Republican, said Ryan didn’t come off much better, in a medium where appearances matter a lot. “He looks like he’s going to fall asleep,” she said. “He looks like he lost sleep the night before.”