The World Next Week: Biden and Ryan Debate, Venezuela Votes, and the Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the vice presidential debate; presidential elections in Venezuela; and nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/editorial/2012/20121004_T…]

The highlights:

For more on the topics we discussed in the podcast check out:

Biden and Ryan face off in the vice presidential debate: The Huffington Post writes that Biden had already put in 60 hours of debate practice a month before the debate.  Reuters reports that both candidates have attacked the other for their stance on Medicare and other social programs.  The New York Times assesses the Romney-Ryan campaign’s recent criticism of Obama’s foreign policy. The Hill writes that Ryan is “absolutely” looking forward to the debate and is emphasizing Biden’s debate experience.

Presidential elections take place in Venezuela: BBC News writes that many Venezuelans continue to support Chavez because of his many social programs. Foreign Policy warns that violence might break out if Chavez is defeated. The Center for Strategic and International Studies suggests that while free and fair elections may be possible, a victory for the opposition is not likely. The Guardian reports that the United States frequently misrepresents Venezuelan democracy. CFR’s Patrick Duddy writes a Contingency Planning Memorandum on “Political Unrest in Venezuela”

Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize: The Norwegian Nobel Committee notes that there were 231 nominations for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, 43 of which were organizations. Slate lists likely candidates for each Nobel Prize. The Nordic Page reports that the Norwegian Nobel Committee had an easy time selecting this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Huffington Post reveals a few publicly disclosed candidates.