Blistering and brutal but no knockout blow: Biden battles to revive Obama campaign in electrifying debate but Ryan keeps him at bay

A finger-jabbing Joe Biden assailed Paul Ryan tonight in a high-octane vice-presidential debate but failed to deliver the knockout blow on his young rival that President Obama's campaign desperately needed. 
Democrats were heartened by Biden's spirited performance in the brutal 90-minute confrontation after Obama's poor showdown with Mitt Romney last week. 
But the restrained, reasoned and mature outing of the much less experienced Ryan limited any clear claims of victory on either side. 
The big question in the next few days will be whether Biden's energetic display will be enough to turn around the Obama campaign, which has been struggling ever since the President's limp performance in Denver.
While Biden’s animated demeanour, punctuated with his trademark laughs, smirks and wild gesticulations, won plaudits from liberals and hard-core Democrats, his performance ran the risk of being seen as bullying and condescending, alienating swing and female voters. Ryan complained that he was being interrupted too much and was clearly irritated by Biden’s in-your-face approach.
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Bruising: Joe Biden and Paul Ryan fought hard in their vice-presidential debate but Biden's punches did not seem to do too much damage to his opponent

Aggressive: Joe Biden went on the offensive in his debate against Paul Ryan

Spirited: The debate was fizzing with energy from the very beginning, and did not let up

Mocking: Both men made jokes at the other's expense, with Mr Biden in particular laughing at what he considered his opponent's missteps

TOP LINES OF ATTACK

BIDEN'S BARBS

To Ryan:
‘Oh, so now you’re Jack Kennedy?’
On Ryan’s claims about defence cuts:
‘A bunch of malarkey.’
On Iran:
‘A bunch of stuff.’
On tax:
‘I’ve had it up to here with 47 per cent.’
On bodies to introduce Obamacare reform:
'I heard that death panel argument from Sarah Palin.'
On recession:
‘I believe you grow this country from the middle out, not the top down.’
RYAN'S RETORTS
On unemployment:
‘He's from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’m from Janesville, Wisconsin. You know what the unemployment rate in Scranton is? It's 10 per cent. The day you came into office, it was 8.5 per cent. That's how it's going all around America.’
On Biden’s gaffes:
‘The Vice President knows, sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.’
On the 9/11 attacks in Benghazi:
‘It took the president two weeks to acknowledge this was a terrorist attack.’
On Medicare:
'They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar turning Medicare into a piggy bank for Obamacare.'
On Obama's campaign:
'It's all been about attack, blame and defame.'
On a lack of a credible economic plan:
‘This is what we get - speeches, not leadership.’

And certainly from immediate snap polls conducted by TV channels, it was a very close call, as a CNN poll of debate-watchers put Ryan ahead by a small margin, with 48 per cent naming him the winner against 44 per cent saying they preferred Biden.
In the opening minutes of the debate, which set the tone of the face-off, Biden mocked Ryan's view of looming defense cuts, saying: 'With all due respect, that’s a bunch of malarkey.’
He even accused Ryan and Romney of being anti-American in their 'politically motivated' response to the terror attacks in Benghazi.
‘I've never seen two guys who are more down on America across the board,’ he said at one point. At another, he exclaimed: ‘These guys bet against America all the time!’
During the debate, which was especially sparky in the first hour, Biden raised laughter when he asserted, ‘this is a bunch of stuff’ and interjected: ‘Oh God!’
Listening to Ryan patiently outline the Romney-Ryan economic plan, he stated: ‘All this bluster, and all this loose talk. What are they talking about?’
Armed with the kind of attack lines that Obama failed to deliver against Romney in Denver last week, Biden laid into Romney for his notorious remark about not caring about the ’47 per cent’ who did not pay federal income tax.

Ryan hit back at Biden, who is notoriously gaffe-prone: ’I think the Vice President very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way.’
And at one point, the Republican candidate directly criticised his opponent's relentless attacks, saying: 'I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we don't interrupt each other.'
His most cutting attack on the Obama administration came during his closing statement, when he said: 'You have a President who ran for President four years ago promising hope and change, who has now turned his campaign into attack, blame and defame.'

Biden, 69, made a jibe about 42-year-old Ryan’s youth when the congressman noted that President John F. Kennedy had cut taxes. ‘Oh now you're Jack Kennedy? This is amazing!’
Biden was attempting to emulate the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen who in 1988 famously told the younger Senator Dan Quayle that 'you're no Jack Kennedy'.

The Vice President repeatedly referred to his rival as 'my friend' - but the tone was less than friendly as the pair clashed over and over again, on issues from spending to defence to unemployment.
Biden laughed when Ryan brought up 'devastating defence cuts', accusing him of talking a ‘bunch of malarkey’ as he exclaimed: ‘Not a single thing he has said is accurate’.

Ryan made some well-guided attacks on the failure of intelligence and security over the Benghazi terror attacks on September 11, and Iran.
Biden, however, said Romney looked ‘unpresidential’ in his response to the terror attacks.
The Vice President went where Obama had feared to tread, accusing Mr Romney of ignoring 47 per cent of the country - a reference to a secretly filmed video of the candidate talking to a group of wealthy donors earlier this year.
The two had a spirited exchange when Ryan said, 'The Vice President very well knows, sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way,' to which Biden replied: 'I always say what I mean - and so does Romney.'

Making peace: Mr Biden greets Mr Ryan's mother, as the Vice President's son Beau shakes hands with his rival's daughter and Mr and Mrs Ryan watch on

Congratuations: Mr Ryan is greeted by his wife Janna, and by his son Sam sitting at the candidates' table

No hard feelings: Mr Biden and Mrs Ryan get to know each other after the bruising debate confrontation

Introduction: Sam Ryan meets Joe and Jill Biden on stage at Centre College in Danville

LIBYA AND IRAN - MODERATION OR WEAKNESS?
Moderator Martha Raddatz started off by asking about the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate which killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans one month ago tonight.
Biden promised: 'We will find and bring to justice the men who did this, and secondly we will get to the bottom of it and wherever the facts lead us... they will be made clear to the American public.'
But Ryan pointed out that the ambassador to Libya received less protection even than the ambassador in Paris, and criticised the administration for making a 'tragedy' worse, adding: 'Shouldn't we have a Marine detachment guarding our ambassador in Benghazi?'

 

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The Republican was quick to point to 'devastating defence cuts' as the culprit for American weakness around the world, an argument which the Vice President described as 'a bunch of malarkey'.
Biden repeatedly accused Ryan of not telling the truth over issues such as Iran, claiming the Republican had exaggerated the country's nuclear capabilities as he praised the Obama administration's 'crippling sanctions'.
The Vice President also portrayed himself as an ally of Israel, describing the country's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a close friend of his.
'With regard to Bibi, who's been my friend 39 years, the President has met with Bibi a dozen times,' he said. 'He's spoken to Bibi Netanyahu as much as he's spoken to anybody.'

Ryan claimed his and Romney's foreign policy would be tougher than the Obama administration's - but dialled back some of the campaign's criticism of Obama 'apologising for America'. When asked if it was necessary for officials to say sorry when U.S. troops burned copies of the Koran and urinated on the corpses of Taliban fighters, he said, 'Oh gosh, yes... What we should not be apologising for [is] standing up for our values.'

Face-off: The pair had not publicly debated before Thursday night's primetime showdown, watched by tens of millions

Debate: Joe Biden and Paul Ryan at the vice-presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky

Warmth: But the rivals were quick to go on the attack against each other in the debate

Exchange: Mr Biden accused Mr Ryan of misleading voters as the Republican challenger attacked the Obama administration

HEALTHCARE AND SECURITY - PERSONAL STORIES EMERGE
The two running mates also clashed over Social Security and healthcare, as Ryan defended his reform plans saying: 'If you reform these programmes for my generation, you can guarantee they don't have to change for those aged 50 and above.'
The Republican also denounced the bodies introduced by the Obamacare reform to make decisions on the provision of certain treatments, characterising them as 'death panels'. Biden replied by comparing his opponent to Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in 2008, as he said: 'I heard that death panel argument from Sarah Palin.'

CANDIDATES' HEARTFELT TALES

Both candidates have fought their way from adversity into the highest echelons of American politics - and neither was shy about telling his story during the debate.
Joe Biden described the agony of losing his daughter in a car crash during the early days of his political career.
The Vice President argued that these experiences helped him empathise with voters who had also gone through hard times.
Paul Ryan used his personal history to emphasise his support for the U.S.'s entitlement programmes, which allowed him to go to college after the premature death of his father.
He also praised Social Security for helping out his mother, whom he described as 'a senior from Florida' - one of the key swing states which will decide the election.

Another frequent talking point of the Romney campaign emerged when the talk turned to Medicare, as Ryan said: 'Obamacare takes $716billion from Medicare to spend on Obamacare. Even their own chief actuary at Medicare backs this up.'
After the congressman talked about Romney's compassion towards a family whose sons had died in a tragic car accident, the Vice President attempted to draw a distinction between the candidate's character and his politics, saying: 'I don't doubt his personal commitment to individuals - but I doubt his commitment to the auto industry.'
THE ECONOMY - RYAN ON THE ATTACK
When the talk turned to Ryan's specialist subject - the economy - the Republican was predictably critical of what he saw as the 'waste' of billions of stimulus money, in particular a number of investments in 'green jobs' provided by firms such as Solyndra which later went bankrupt.
He attacked the sluggish recovery from crisis over the past four years, saying: 'Look, did they come in and inherit a tough situation? Absolutely. But we're going in the wrong direction. Look at where we are. The economy is barely limping along.'
In his closing statement, the congressman delivered a powerful denunciation of excessive government spending as he declared: 'A debt crisis is coming. We can't keep spending and borrowing like this. We can't keep spending money we don't have.'
But Biden accused the congressman of seeking stimulus money for pet projects despite his opposition to the scheme. Ryan acknowledged applying for funding on behalf of Wisconsin businesses, saying: 'That's what we do.'
On unemployment, Ryan scored a hit by saying, 'Joe and I are from similar towns' - and then pointing that joblessness in Biden's hometown of Scranton had risen to more than 10 per cent over the past four years.
Biden fought back with a reference to Romney's own tax rate, pointing out that when the candidate was asked if he felt it was fair that he paid just 14 per cent in tax - less than workers who earn just $50,000 - he replied that he it was. 'You think these guys are going to go out there and cut these loopholes?', the Vice President asked.
He presented himself as the man who understands the needs of the middle class best: 'Look at my record. It's been all about the middle class. They're the people who grow this country. We think you grow this country from the middle out, not from the top down.'

Hilarity: Mr Biden smirked his way through the debate as he attempted to land a series of blows on his opponent

Moderator: The pressure was on Martha Raddatz after widespread criticism of Jim Lehrer's performance last week

Sitdown: The debate took place at Central College and was moderated by ABC's Martha Raddatz

Fierce: The two men hammered each other on foreign policy as soon as the debate opened

SOCIAL ISSUES - TWO CATHOLICS DIVIDED ON ABORTION

 

TODAY'S POLL  

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  Joe Biden

  Paul Ryan

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Biden spoke in a quiet, hoarse voice as he said, 'My religion defines who I am,' insisting that he personally believed that life begins at birth but said he did not want to impose his own beliefs on other people.
But Ryan refused to compromise on his staunch pro-life views, even as he said, 'I respect people who don't agree with me on this,' as he reiterated that a Romney administration would seek to make abortion illegal except in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother.
'I don't see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith,' he said. 'Our faith informs us in everything we do.'
Biden warned that if Romney and Ryan are elected, they will appoint conservative justices in the vein of Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and enable some states to criminalise abortion.

Support: Janna Ryan, left, and Jill Biden, right, take their seats in Danville ahead of the debate between their two husbands

The boss: Mitt Romney eats pizza as he watches his running mate take on the Vice President from a hotel room in Asheville, North Carolina

Approval: Mr Obama told reporters he 'could not be prouder' of his running mate after he watched the debate on Air Force One

How was he? Barack Obama talks about the debate as he returns to Andrews Air Force Base on Thursday night

Family: Mr Ryan's wife Janna and his mother Elizabeth applauding before the start of the debate

Loyalty: Jill Biden with her sons Hunter and Beau watching the frenetic action during the vice-presidential debate

Both presidential candidates praised their running mates after the debate.

'I thought Joe Biden was terrific tonight,' Obama told reporters after watching proceedings on board Air Force One. 'I could not be prouder of him.'

Romney watched the debate with Ohio senator Rob Portman in his hotel room in Asheville, North Carolina, and called up Ryan afterwards to congratulate him.

Biden was widely acclaimed for his display of bravado - but Fox News commentators lined up to criticise his aggression.

'I don't believe I have ever seen a debate in which one participant was as openly disrespectful of the other,' said veteran anchor Chris Wallace.

And Greta Van Susteren added: 'The smiles, the sneers... it made Vice President Joe Biden - someone who I typically like - I thought he was very unlikeable.'

Arrival: Mr Biden with his daughter Ashley and son Beau touching down on Air Force Two in Lexington, Kentucky

Expectations: The Vice President is hoping to land some killer blows on his much younger opponent

The bosses: Mitt Romney was widely acknowledged to have beaten Barack Obama in last week's presidential debate in Denver

FLASHBACK TO BIDEN-PALIN 2008

The last time Joe Biden took part in a formal debate, it was one of the biggest television events of the year.
Over 70million people tuned in to the showdown between Mr Biden and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and John McCain's running mate.
Those sky-high ratings meant the face-off was viewed by more people than any of the encounters between Mr McCain and Barack Obama.
Many expected the inexperienced Ms Palin to be flattened by Mr Biden, but in the end the Democrat was judged by viewers to have won by only a small margin.
Despite her surprisingly strong performance, Ms Palin has not been consulted for tips by her successor Paul Ryan.
Mitt Romney's running mate says he barely knows the former governor - though he also claims he would be willing to listen to her advice.

For Mr Biden, Thursday night's debate was his first since the 2008 campaign, when he shared a stage with Sarah Palin, then John McCain's running mate.
Mr Ryan spars frequently with Democrats during debates on legislation on the House floor and in the House Budget Committee, which he chairs, but not in a one-on-one encounter covering 90 minutes and a virtually unlimited range of topics.
For all their differences, the two men share a common objective, to advance the cause of their tickets in a close race for the presidency - and avoid a gaffe that might forever seal their place in the history of debates.
Mr Romney's choice of Mr Ryan as running mate over the summer cheered conservatives in the House, many of whom regard him as their leader on budget and economic issues.
The seven-term lawmaker has authored a pair of deficit-reducing budgets in the past two years that call for spending cuts and changes in Medicare, blueprints that Republicans passed through the House and Democrats frequently criticise. He also champions a no-tax increase approach to economic policy.
As a senator before becoming Vice President, Mr Biden was chairman of the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees, and he has long experience in national security issues.
More recently, he was Mr Obama's point man in arduous, ultimately unsuccessful negotiations with Republicans on steps to cut the deficit.
Both candidates held extensive rehearsals, with stand-ins for their opponents.
Mr Biden turned to Maryland congressman Chris Van Hollen, who is well-versed in Mr Ryan's policy views from his tenure as senior Democrat on the Budget Committee.
Mr Ryan's foil in rehearsal was former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a skillful courtroom advocate.
The two presidential candidates will meet in Hempstead, New York on Tuesday, and then again for a final debate in Boca Raton, Florida on October 22.

Fit: Mr Ryan, an exercise fanatic, has appeared in this unusual photoshoot for TIME magazine

Workout: Mr Ryan is a devotee of P90X, a touch fitness regimen