Rob’s Rundown: Friday, October 12

The vice presidential debate.

Obviously, the talk today is about Vice President Joe Biden. He was snarky and almost rude during Thursday’s debate. It was his role and he played it almost perfectly. Truth be told, vice presidential debates don’t sway elections. What Biden did was throw red meat towards the Democratic base. They needed it after President Obama’s first debate performance. He delivered. After watching last night though, I’m glad he’s not the one with his finger on the button.

On another note, David Brooks writes this in The New York Times:

What do independents want most? They want people who will practice a more respectful brand of politics, who will behave the way most Americans try to behave in their dealings: respectfully, maybe even pausing to listen for a second…

This is not just an issue of manners. It is: How are we going to practice the kind of politics that will help us avert the so-called fiscal cliff?

Based on last night’s debate, I have no confidence the two parties will put partisanship aside to deal with the major issues this country faces. I’m sorry to say, but I’m not encouraged for the future at all.

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Divided we stand.

Almost every day I hear someone talk about how divided this country is. If you couldn’t tell, it’s actually very true. A new Gallup poll shows just how much. Ninety percent of Democrats approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing as president. Only 8 percent of Republicans do. That’s an 82 percent split. It’s even affecting Facebook “friendships.” It happened to me today actually. I lost what I thought was a dear Facebook friend over politics (note the sarcasm). Oh well. Personally, I like a little disagreement. Obviously, she didn’t. To read the exchange, click here and read it on my Facebook page.

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World’s most expensive cocktail.

It’s Friday. Time to start thinking about what kind of beer I’ll have tonight. It won’t be this drink. It costs $8,824. How many are you going to have? Here’s what is in it.