D4

1) Ryan emphasizes strength and defense. He argues that the defense budget should not be cut because America will risk looking weak to the rest of the world, and that our enemies will take advantage of this. Ryan also focuses on the idea that the U.S. is not better off today then it was four years ago. He points out unemployment and economic decline. Ryan also emphasized the health care policy that does not change medicare for people in the system now, his policies will only affect future seniors. Biden, similarly to Obama, is focusing on the tax policies of the Republican candidates. He argues that Ryan will create tax cuts for the wealthy while leaving middle class and poor Americans to fend for themselves. The Democratic strategy seems to be to paint the Republicans as dismissive of poor Americans. Biden points to Ryan's opposition of ObamaCare and his changes to medicare to prove this point.

2) Joe Biden said, "Stop talking about how you care about people. Show me a policy." This points out many voters feeling that although politicians can advocate change, they don't always have a specific plan that they can point to in order to create this change.
     Paul Ryan asked Biden,"Where are the 5 million green jobs we were told would be created?" Ryan often argues that the Obama did not live up the promises he made in the last campaign. This question points this issue out.

3) Both vice-presidential candidates were a little sassier and more aggressive than the presidential candidates in the first debate. Joe Biden interrupted Paul Ryan several times, which I think many viewers will find obnoxious and unappealing. Biden also tries to appeal to viewers common sense, he often asked voters to follow their instinct. Ryan seems to rely on the idea that the Obama campaign is attacking Mitt Romney because they don't have a positive record to run on themselves. Both candidates are good speakers who are breaking down complex issues into simple terms. Overall, Ryan might come off as more appealing to voters though because of Biden's interruptions and the fact that he often laughs while Ryan is speaking. Biden also refers to Ryan as "my friend" throughout the debate to seem more amenable.

4) The moderator is running a much tighter show than Lehrer did in the presidential debate. She cut the speakers off fairly strictly at the time limits and asked more specific questions than Lehrer. She also asked a lot more follow up questions. Jim Lehrer was criticized for his hands off approach so perhaps Martha Raddatz is trying to avoid this. I found one of the last questions, about the candidates' religion and abortion, to be particularly interesting. As a Catholic and a Democrat this question is something that I've struggled with myself. I thought both candidates had good points. Ryan argued that life begins at conception and so abortion should be illegal while Biden argued that while he personally agrees with the Church's pro-life stance he does not believe in imposing this on women across the country.