The debate
between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Paul Ryan
might not change the minds of many voters. In fact, it could make them
less likely to change.
But Democrats and Republicans
found plenty to cheer about on Thursday, and plenty of reasons to
believe that the other side is more misguided than ever.
If
the two men fought to a draw - as conflicting post-debate polls seem to
suggest - that counts as a win for Biden and his boss, Democratic
President Barack Obama, who needed to stop the bleeding after his
lackluster debate performance last week against Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney.
Biden's
aggressive performance is sure to cheer Democratic partisans who worried
that their side wasn't fighting with enough passion. It also could have
been a preview of Obama's approach on Tuesday in his second debate
against Romney.
"If you had to call
winner right now, I'd say it's a draw," said David Steinberg, a debate
coach and communications professor at the University of Miami. "But a
tie goes to the incumbent."
Ryan,
new to the national stage, turned in a solid performance that probably
won't lead many voters to question the judgment of Romney, who put the
Wisconsin congressman on the Republican ticket.
Ryan
faced the challenge of showing that he had a command of foreign policy
issues against Biden, a veteran of international affairs - a test Ryan
largely passed, analysts said. His attacks on the Obama administration's
Libya policy created openings that Romney is likely to exploit in the
two debates to come.
"He left this
debate with little doubt that he'll have some bigger political career
going forward if Romney doesn't win the election," said Jamie Chandler, a
political science professor at Hunter College in New York.
But on Thursday, Biden was the story.
Mustering
a passion that was missing from Obama's performance last week, Biden - a
U.S. senator for 36 years before he was elected vice president in 2009 -
argued that the administration's efforts to dig out of the recession
were improving Americans' lives, and that its decision to wind down the
war in Afghanistan would prevent further deaths.
His attacks on Romney's economic policies hit all of the buttons Obama had neglected the week before.
At
one point, Biden made a comment that touched on Romney's Byzantine tax
returns, the Republican's suggestion to let U.S. automakers go bankrupt,
his proposal to let struggling homeowners lose their houses, and his
dismissal of 47 percent of the public as unproductive parasites.
PALIN AND KENNEDY
During
the debate Biden compared Ryan with Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican
vice presidential candidate who was widely seen as unprepared for
national office.
And when Ryan
compared his tax plan to that of Democratic icon John Kennedy, Biden was
ready with a quip: "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy?"
When
it was Ryan's turn to speak, Biden laughed, scoffed and interrupted.
The antics were sure to bolster Biden's reputation as a slightly
unhinged gaffe machine and provide fodder for late-night television
satirists.
"The happiest people in the country after this debate are going to be the writers at 'Saturday Night Live,'" Steinberg said.
Sure
enough, the Republican National Committee quickly released an online
compilation of Biden's smirks called "Laughing at the Issues."
But
Ryan let such interruptions largely go unchallenged - a decision that
let Biden take command the debate, said Kathryn Olson, a communications
professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
"I think it was a dominance move, and he got away with it," Olson said.
Republican
enthusiasm for Romney has skyrocketed since last week's debate, which
was widely seen as a clear victory for the former Massachusetts
governor. Some 51 percent of Republicans said they held a "very
favorable" opinion of Romney this week, up from 37 percent in the week
before the debate, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling data.
Democratic enthusiasm for Obama has fallen over the same time period from 63 percent to 51 percent, according to the data.
Biden's
performance may help turn around those numbers for Democrats at a time
when Obama's campaign is mobilizing its get-out-the vote effort before
the November 6 election. But it will be up to Obama to close the deal in
the two debates to come, on Tuesday and on October 22.
"We can look at what Biden employed tonight as a preview of what Obama's going to do," Chandler said.
(Editing by David Lindsey and Christopher Wilson)
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