Biden’s team hopes for repeat of his 2012 performance as Trump debate nears
The vice-presidential candidate who debated Paul Ryan helped turn the trajectory of Obama’s reelection campaign
Daniel Strauss in Washington
@danielstrauss4
Sun 27 Sep 2020 09.02 EDT
For Democrats and supporters of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, the hope is that the version of the former vice-president who faced then congressman Paul Ryan back in 2012 shows up to debate Donald Trump on Tuesday in Ohio.
The Biden who showed up for the Ryan debate helped turn around Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Ask just about any Obama campaign alumna or Democratic strategist and they will concede that Obama’s performance against Mitt Romney in the first debate was lacking.
“I would describe what he did in 2012 as a circuit breaker,†said Tad Devine, who ran Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
It was a low point in the campaign, former Obama campaign staffers recalled in interviews with the Guardian, and it was unclear whether Biden’s performance in the vice-presidential debate would help lift the suddenly faltering campaign – or let it sink further.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/27/trump-biden-us-presidential-debate-2012
