Politicsvp debatePoliticsElections 2012

Joe Biden On VP Debate Strategy: No 'Rope-A-Dope'

Joe Biden On VP Debate Strategy: No 'Rope-A-Dope'
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Senior Politics Reporter, HuffPost

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CHESTERFIELD, VA - SEPTEMBER 25: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Chesterfield Country Fairgrounds September 25, 2012 in Chesterfield, Virginia. Virginia is one of the key battleground states in the presidential election and candidates from both parties have spent significant amounts of time in the state. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

DANVILLE, Ky. -- Vice President Joe Biden isn't revealing much about his strategy for debating Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan on Thursday night. But one thing he's not planning is a Muhammad Ali-type approach to a fight.

"You ever see me rope-a-dope?" Biden told reporters who asked whether that would be his strategy, per pool reports. The expression refers to a tactic used by Ali to tire out his opponent by pretending to be trapped on the ropes as the opponent expends energy on blocked punches.

Biden left Delaware Thursday morning for Danville, Ky., where he will go head-to-head with Ryan in the first and only vice presidential debate. "Looking forward to it," he told reporters as he boarded his plane.

Several members of Biden's family are traveling with him to the debate, including his children, Hunter, Beau and Ashley, as well as his sister, Valerie. Debate partner Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) are also traveling with him, as is his communications director Shailagh Murray, who stood in for moderator Martha Raddatz during Biden's debate practice.

Jill Biden will also be at the debate, but she's traveling separately.

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Before You Go

Biden's Greatest Hits
"Oops!...I Did It Again" (Britney Spears)(01 of10)
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(May 23, 2010) -- As President Barack Obama prepared to announce the passage of his landmark health care legislation, Vice President Joe Biden had a memorable slip of the tongue, dropping an F-bomb on live television. "This is a big f*ck*ng deal," he said. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
"Cleanin' Out My Closet" (Eminem)(02 of10)
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(March 28, 2011) -- A journalist covering Biden's appearance at a Florida fundraiser found himself in a sticky spot. The vice president's communications staff kept Orlando sentinel reporter Scott Powers in a closet prior to Biden's speech for Bill Nelson. The VP's team offered its "sincere apologies" to Powers "for the lack of a better hold room." (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty File)
"Sleeping With The Television On" (Billy Joel)(03 of10)
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(April 13, 2011) -- Was Biden catching some z's? Cameras appeared to catch the vice president dozing during President Obama's speech at George Washington University. (credit:CBS)
"Save Me, San Francisco" (Train)(04 of10)
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(Jan. 19, 2012) -- During a speech in San Francisco, Biden made an embarrassing error with the city's sports teams. In advance of the 49ers' NFC Championship game with the New York Giants, Biden said: "The Giants [are] on their way to the Super Bowl." His confusion possibly stemmed from the fact that the San Francisco's Major League baseball team is also called the Giants. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (credit:Getty File)
"Thanks For The Memories" (Fall Out Boy)(05 of10)
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(March 28, 2012) -- While campaigning in Iowa, Biden blasted GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's record on jobs. He charged that Romney is "consistently wrong" on manufacturing, pointing to a photo album factory that closed under Bain Capital's watch. "Mitt, thanks for the memories," Biden quipped. (Photo by Andrea Melendez-Pool/Getty Images) (credit:Getty File)
"Say My Name" (Destiny's Child) (06 of10)
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(March 28, 2012) -- On another Iowa campaign stop, Biden flubbed the name of a local school leader, referring to Scott Community College President Dr. Theresa Paper as "Dr. Pepper." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (credit:CNN)
"Feeling Good" (Michael Bublé)(07 of10)
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(May 6, 2012) -- In an interview with NBC's "Meet The Press," Biden announced his support for gay marriage. "I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties," he said. (credit:NBC)
"Trouble" (Coldplay)(08 of10)
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(May 10, 2012) -- Immediately before Obama revealed his own support for gay marriage, Biden apologized to the president for making his announcement ahead of the president's moment. The AP reported that the duo met in the Oval Office, where Obama accepted Biden's apology, knowing that the VP was speaking from his heart. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty File)
"Feel Like Makin' Love" (Bad Company)(09 of10)
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(July 11, 2012) -- At the National Council of La Raza's annual conference, Biden turned heads with a sex joke surrounding his home life growing up. "By the way -- having your grandpop living with you, having your great aunt, your uncle, for real," Biden remarked. "Those walls were awful thin. I wonder how the hell my parents did it. But that's a different story." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty File)
"The Chain" (Fleetwood Mac)(10 of10)
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(August 14, 2012) -- At a campaign rally in Virginia, Biden accused Romney of looking to loosen regulations on Wall Street. "They're going to put y'all back in chains," Biden told the crowd, turning heads. Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul said the comment was "not acceptable in our political discourse," while Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley added that it was an "indelicate choice of words." (credit:5min)
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