Joe Biden’s spirited debate performance against Paul Ryan lauded by friends and laughed at by foes

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October 13, 2012

'I think you might agree with me that there was one person on stage last night who was thoughtful and respectful, steady and poised,' says Mitt Romney. But White House says VP did 'excellent job.'

October 13, 2012

'I think you might agree with me that there was one person on stage last night who was thoughtful and respectful, steady and poised,' says Mitt Romney. But White House says VP did 'excellent job.'

Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) squared off in the vice presidential debate at Centre College. Some have called Biden's performance 'obnoxious.'

Democrats were smiling on Friday after Vice President Biden’s high-spirited performance against Rep. Paul Ryan in their debate — but Republicans were hoping to have the last laugh.

Biden’s forceful defense of President Obama’s record and blistering critique of Mitt Romney’s proposals fired up Democrats who were left demoralized by Obama’s listless debate display last week.

And it wasn’t just what Biden said that made an impression on Thursday night — but how he said it.

The Internet crackled Friday with images and video montages of Biden’s grins, chuckles, guffaws and gesticulations during the debate.

Biden’s admirers said he simply was following the advice of the President, who told ABC News before the debate that, “Joe just needs to be Joe.”

“He was having fun," said Biden’s son, Beau.

But as Democrats cheered Biden’s spirit, Republicans sought to portray his behavior as buffoonish.

To GOP radio host Mike Huckabee, Biden was not the “happy warrior” described by Obama campaign manager Jim Messina, but more like an “obnoxious drunk.”

The Romney campaign cast Ryan as the responsible grown-up alongside the classroom cut-up.

“I think you might agree with me that there was one person on stage last night who was thoughtful and respectful, steady and poised,” Romney told supporters in Virginia.

But while Biden stopped the Democrats’ panic after last week’s presidential debate, the stakes are still high for Obama’s second face-off against Romney on Tuesday at New York’s Hofstra University.

White House spokesman Jay Carney suggested Obama doesn’t plan to adopt Biden’s light-hearted style, although he thinks his VP did an “excellent job."

“This is about — without getting into campaign strategy — this is about very serious issues of public policy,” Carney said.


Courtesy: nydaily