Is this the Joe Biden that Democrats hope will face Donald Trump in 2020?

Who could believe Joe Biden's strange conduct during the Biden-Ryan debate for Vice-President in 2012? Chris Wallace said that he was shocked by how "openly contemptuous" Biden appeared to act towards Ryan and that he thought Biden's behavior lacked historical precedent. Excerpts from The Tunnel Wall back on Friday, October 12, 2012. TD

Biden accused of being disrespectful in vice presidential debate with grins, laughs
. . . " 'Our vice president has shown he is an abusive political bully who belittles, mocks, ridicules and laughs at his opponent, the moderator, the viewers and anyone who questions this administration's lack of leadership," Martin said. "Solutions require respect. These skills the vice president, and this administration, clearly lack."
"Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, a Fox News contributor, said he thought Biden delivered a strong performance overall, but it was "diminished" by the "smirking."

“I don’t know about the likeability of that smirking … I found it condescending and overdone," Trippi said." . . .

Chris Wallace Shocked By Biden's 'Disrespectful,' 'Openly Contemptuous' Debate Treatment Of Ryan
. . . "You could talk about the smirks, the smiles, the head shaking, the mugging -- it was openly contemptuous and disrespectful," Wallace said. He said he was put off by the words as well as the style -- calling Ryan's statements "malarkey" and "stuff" and "loose talk.""Wallace called it "unprecedented" and "extraordinary.""Bret Baier asked if it was appropriate for Biden to smirk during the discussion of the Iranian nuclear issue. Wallace said he was laughing at Ryan and not Iran specifically, and on foreign affairs Ryan did better than most other subjects."


Krauthammer: Biden’s ‘disrespectful,’ ‘hugely condescending’ demeanor undid potential debate win  . . . “ 'If you heard it on radio, what you heard was Biden being aggressive, forceful, he was sort of on the attack all the time and he pushed the argument his way,” Krauthammer continued. “He did a lot of interrupting as well. And Ryan reacted with, I thought, excessive deference, allowing himself to be cut off and often just ending with a point that you might understand — for instance, when he talked about the Catholic Bishops — he made a point after Biden had said, ‘Oh, the Bishops of the Catholic church is not going to be compelled to do anything under ObamaCare.'”
“ 'Ryan said, ‘Then why is that the Bishops are suing the administration?’ But that is almost an aside, and it was lost, and then it was over by the next question.”
"Krauthammer’s conclusion? If the televised interpretation trumps the audio and the transcript, Biden’s the loser." . . .

Many links at National Review Online under the heading "Classless Joe". Here is a small sample:   

The VP Debate by Yuval Levin 

 Mark Steyn; Laughing All the Way to the Bank Collapse "Ryan isn’t a funny guy. But, when you’re earnest and a bit wonky and up against a smarmy third-rate lounge-act flashing his dentistry, you don’t have to be funny. A bit of righteous indignation would have helped. 

"An opportunity missed."

John Fund writes about Joe the Bully  "Al Gore lost his first debate to George W. Bush in 2000 with his audible sighs and sneering manner. Biden wasn’t quite that bad, but independent voters usually don’t like candidates who come off as a jerk. Biden’s rude demeanor hurt him tonight, providing a poor contrast to Ryan’s calmness on the split screen."