These Guys Needed a Cut Man

As a lifelong fan (and mediocre practitioner) of what writer A.J. Liebling termed “The Sweet Science,” I’ve witnessed some classic boxing matches as well as some that, quite frankly, prompted me to grab the remote and flip to reruns of “Seinfeld.”

I’ll take the Soup Nazi or the “big salad” over a dull sporting event anytime.

As far as fights go, I would however have to rank Thursday’s Vice Presidential debate right up there, with incumbent Joe Biden, D-Del.,  and challenger Paul Ryan, R-Wis., alternately trading jabs and body blows over everything from foreign policy to the substance of their respective tax plans.

In fact, I’m sort of amazed moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News didn’t don a black and white striped shirt for the occasion.

From the opening bell, Biden was clearly the aggressor (as one who is fighting to keep his job is wont to be), pouncing immediately on his younger challenger. In stark contrast to the lackluster performance his boss exhibited in Denver, and unlike the President, he went right to Mitt Romney’s comment about the 47% of the U.S. population who pay no federal income tax and highlighted the Administration’s rescue of General Motors and the housing industry.

Biden claimed the Romney/Ryan plan would extend tax cuts that he said would give an additional $500 billion in cuts to some 120,000 families.

Ryan counterpunched and defended his five-point plan for repairing the struggling economy, noting that the plan does include tax cuts for the middle class, and blasted the Administration for the sloth-like pace of growth, which is currently at 1.3%, and that the poverty level is at 15%.

“That’s not what a recovery looks like,” he said.

Ryan declined to provide specifics on their tax cut plan, which would cut tax rates by 20% but limit tax deductions for upper-income earners. Biden however, jumped in and claimed it would raise taxes by $2,000 on middle-class families, a fact the challenger quickly dismissed.

And it went on like this for 90 minutes.

Both landed effectively, and — true to form — often took liberties with the facts but, hey, it kept my attention. At the end, the consensus was that veteran Biden took the decision on points.

But as we all know, a fight is won in rounds and we still have two rounds left.  I may have to hold off on the Seinfeld reruns for a while.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”