Joe Biden may not have the last laugh

By Joe Battenfeld
Friday, October 12, 2012 - Updated 2 hours ago

Obama slept. Biden smirked.

Vice President Joe Biden did give the president what he needed last night — a jolt of energy and a strong defense — but his constant smiling and guffawing could overshadow his performance and turn off undecided voters.

Biden, in a critical debate for the Obama campaign, looked more like the Cheshire Cat at times as he tried to laugh off his GOP opponent Paul Ryan during the 90-minute showdown. Midway through the debate, there was already a @LaughinJoeBiden Twitter handle.

Ryan, a debate rookie, kept his cool on the stage and avoided any major mistakes that could have slowed GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s recent surge in the polls.

Biden’s sometimes lecturing style — at one point he even pointed his pen at moderator Martha Raddatz and scolded her — will fire up Democrats but may not do much to lure independent voters.

“With all due respect that’s a bunch of malarkey,” Biden told Ryan in one of his most memorable lines.

Biden at least showed a spark of energy — unlike President Obama in the first debate — but there’s unlikely to be any big poll bounce for either side leading up to the second presidential faceoff next week.

The vice president’s condescending laugh and constant references to Ryan as “my friend” seemed to be a deliberate strategy to belittle the Wisconsin congressman, but it also could be the most talked about part of the whole debate.

Ryan, in his first major debate, looked nervous at times — you don’t need that much water, Paul — and much of the debate was focused on foreign policy, not his real strength. But he kept his cool and did nothing to hurt Romney.

“I know you’re under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground,” the GOP vice presidential nominee told Biden in one of the sharpest moments in the debate.

The vice president managed to avoid any big gaffes — even though Ryan baited him at times.

“I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way,” Ryan joked.

“But I always said what I mean,” Biden responded.

The vice president had holed up in a hotel for nearly a week for debate practice sessions, which were reportedly overseen by Obama’s top political adviser, David Axelrod. The campaign was especially concerned about Biden because he has not debated in four years he and has a tendency to wander off script. Biden’s age, 69, was also a major concern for the campaign.

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Friday, October 12, 2012