Biden and Ryan Debate

Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan met to further differentiate the tickets they represent during the vice presidential debate Thursday night in Danville, Kentucky.

Issues covered during the debate began with Libya and proceeded to defense spending, Iran, abortion and when to bring the troops home.

This was the first debate between the two tickets that involved a discussion of how each candidate would deal with foreign policies.

Ryan and Biden discussed the recent murdering of a U.S. Ambassador. Ryan stated that he would make sure all ambassadors had Marine guards, while Biden stated that a request for a guard had never been made, so one was never assigned.

Ryan illustrated the defense budget and how he and Mitt Romney will keep the budget strong and growing. Biden illustrated how he and Obama will continue to cut back defense spending.

Biden reiterated the stance on having all the troops withdrawn from the Middle East by 2014. Ryan said that they would like to do that, but in 2013 they will analyze the situation and then make a decision.

On the economy, both candidates guaranteed that they could get unemployment below six percent. Biden answered the question first, stating he could not predict a certain time that this goal would be accomplished, but that it was a top priority. Ryan stated as well that getting unemployment down would be his ticket’s main goal, but said the timeline would be variable as well.

Abortion was brought up for the first time in this series of debates.

Ryan answered the question first, stating that he is pro-life, and explained how his Catholic faith influences his decisions. However, under the circumstances of rape, incest and saving the life of the mother, an abortion is acceptable, Ryan said. Biden explained that he is also Catholic and he personally is pro-life, but does not believe the government should decide when an abortion is acceptable or not.

The subject of Iran’s development of nuclear weapons was brought up and discussed at length. Both candidates agreed that this was unacceptable in any administration. Biden and Ryan disagreed when they debated about how close the Iranians were to actually making a missile.

Ryan said that the Iranians are four years closer than before when Obama was elected. He also said that an attack would soon be a real threat.

Biden disagreed. “If you listen to these guys, the sky is falling down,” Biden said. He said that missiles are a long way away from being a reality, due to the Iranian’s lack of infrastructure.

Two presidential debates remain. The presidential candidates will discuss foreign and domestic policy on Oct. 16 in Hempstead, New York. The last debate will be held on Oct. 22 in Boca Ranton, Fla., exclusively on the issues of foreign policy. All debates can be viewed on major news outlets at 8 p.m. central time.