CNN’s Gloria Borger talked with Beau Biden ahead of VP Debate
CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger traveled to Delaware today to talk with Beau Biden about his father’s debate preparation on debate day. A highlight from the interview is below and a full transcript will be posted at http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2012.10.11.html
Please credit all usage of the information to CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger
BORGER (voice-over): Beau Biden gave us a clue about the vice president’s offense tonight, which will hit Romney’s performance last week.
BIDEN: A great benefit of being my father is that he doesn’t have to contort himself into different people at different times. Unlike, by the way, Governor Romney did. Governor Romney was a fundamentally different person in that debate than he was in the 15 or so debates that you covered with your colleagues.
BORGER: Does your dad believe that Paul Ryan will be a different person on that stage than he’s been in Congress?
BIDEN: That will be the test, won’t it? The test will be whether or not Paul Ryan, you know, becomes a contortionist and tries to twist himself into a person that he’s not, or whether or not Paul Ryan is true to the things that he’s been true to for his over a decade in Congress, where he wants to voucherize Medicare, where he wants to cut Pell grants, where he wants to cut Head Start, where he wants to cut veterans benefits. And so we’ll see whether or not Paul Ryan is more like the Paul Ryan of the last 10, 12, 14 years.
BORGER: You say your father is your father, he is who he is. He’s always the same person. He’s also somebody who also makes a lot of gaffes. Is there any room for that tonight?
BIDEN: My dad says what he means and means what he says.
BORGER: Right.
BIDEN: You know, a gaffe is when Mitt Romney goes to Great Britain, and within 24 hours offends our closest alley.
BORGER: Well, but your father had his own share.
BIDEN: When my father says — he says what he means and he means what he says. And so tonight, though, you’ll see a person who is disciplined, like you saw in the debate against Sarah Palin. You’ll see a person who was disciplined in every single presidential debate that you covered in 2008, and he did pretty well in all of those. You’ll see him a very focused, you know, vice president, who is methodically prepared to debate Paul Ryan and communicate and talk to the American people.
BORGER: Why sometimes is he so unpredictable?
BIDEN: I wouldn’t say he is. He’s blunt. He tells people — you know, you don’t have to guess what my dad believes. And the reason, though, they would go after him, I think, is because he lands punches. He’s the single best communicator of the middle class out there.
BORGER: So when you say your father lands punches —
BIDEN: He connects. He connects with the middle class in a way that I don’t think Governor Romney is able to.
BORGER (voice-over): Beau Biden gave us a clue about the vice president’s offense tonight, which will hit Romney’s performance last week.
BIDEN: A great benefit of being my father is that he doesn’t have to contort himself into different people at different times. Unlike, by the way, Governor Romney did. Governor Romney was a fundamentally different person in that debate than he was in the 15 or so debates that you covered with your colleagues.
BORGER: Does your dad believe that Paul Ryan will be a different person on that stage than he’s been in Congress?
BIDEN: That will be the test, won’t it? The test will be whether or not Paul Ryan, you know, becomes a contortionist and tries to twist himself into a person that he’s not, or whether or not Paul Ryan is true to the things that he’s been true to for his over a decade in Congress, where he wants to voucherize Medicare, where he wants to cut Pell grants, where he wants to cut Head Start, where he wants to cut veterans benefits. And so we’ll see whether or not Paul Ryan is more like the Paul Ryan of the last 10, 12, 14 years.
BORGER: You say your father is your father, he is who he is. He’s always the same person. He’s also somebody who also makes a lot of gaffes. Is there any room for that tonight?
BIDEN: My dad says what he means and means what he says.
BORGER: Right.
BIDEN: You know, a gaffe is when Mitt Romney goes to Great Britain, and within 24 hours offends our closest alley.
BORGER: Well, but your father had his own share.
BIDEN: When my father says — he says what he means and he means what he says. And so tonight, though, you’ll see a person who is disciplined, like you saw in the debate against Sarah Palin. You’ll see a person who was disciplined in every single presidential debate that you covered in 2008, and he did pretty well in all of those. You’ll see him a very focused, you know, vice president, who is methodically prepared to debate Paul Ryan and communicate and talk to the American people.
BORGER: Why sometimes is he so unpredictable?
BIDEN: I wouldn’t say he is. He’s blunt. He tells people — you know, you don’t have to guess what my dad believes. And the reason, though, they would go after him, I think, is because he lands punches. He’s the single best communicator of the middle class out there.
BORGER: So when you say your father lands punches —
BIDEN: He connects. He connects with the middle class in a way that I don’t think Governor Romney is able to.