Live Blog: Biden and Ryan Square Off in Vice-Presidential Debate

It's rare that a vice presidential debate can swing an election, but following GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's drubbing of President Barack Obama in Denver, Democrats are hoping Vice President Joe Biden can get them back on the right track.

Biden takes on the fresh faced GOP VP nominee, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, in a town hall format contest moderated by ABC News' Martha Raddatz. Biden, a skilled debater from a number of presidential primaries and 2008's match against Sarah Palin, will bring a folksy contrast to the fresh-faced energy of Ryan, a 42-year old fiscal conservative who is seen as the ideological and intellectual leader of his party's congressional faction.

Romney/Ryan have seen a surge in the polls since the former Mass. Governor put in a sterling performance last week; while the Obama campaign has accused him of moderating his positions for a national audience, he was deemed the winner thanks to an aggressive attack, coupled with an unexpected reticence from the president.

Biden is known for playing loose with public speaking rules; he often connects viscerally with an audience, but is prone to making gaffes and silly statements, as well. Ryan is less nationally known as an orator, but gave a full throated attack on Obama/Biden's policies during his RNC speech in August.

Will experience trump youth, or will a new generation's star take hold? Join now The Hollywood Reporter contributing editor Tina Daunt as we live blog this crucial moment in the 2012 Presidential Election. (Additional coverage from The Boston Globe.)

Ryan says, “Let’s not forget, when they came in, they had one-party control,” and passed the stimulus. Yet the unemployment rate and economic recovery has been slower than the administration has projected.

Biden complains that “I love my friend here,” saying Ryan asked him for stimulus money for companies in Wisconsin. “On two occasions, we advocated for constituents seeking grants,” says Ryan. Biden laughs and notes the letter said the funding would create jobs.

by Glen Johnson 10/12/2012 1:34:46 AM
Ryan has one of the brightest brains in Washington ....unemployment is at an all time high...we need a new influx of brain power.

by smurfy 10/12/2012 1:34:50 AM
Here's a major difference between Obama and Biden debate performances: Biden actually wants the job.

by anamariecox via twitter 10/12/2012 1:35:14 AM
ANALYSIS: VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN is doing the job he was assigned to do: attack Romney/Ryan over Romney’s “47 percent” comment, seek to undermine Ryan’s arguments about the deficit by noting that Ryan sought stimulus money, and reminding viewers that Romney wrote an op-ed that the New York Times headlined, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” Ryan has responded in kind, with well-prepared rebuttals, but Biden has made points that Democrats were hoping he would make.

by Michael Kranish, Globe Staff 10/12/2012 1:35:14 AM
FACT CHECK: Ryan asking for stimulus money: Ryan did make requests for stimulus money on behalf of his congressional district in 2009 but denied doing so in a 2010 radio interview.

by Callum Borchers, Globe... edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:35:22 AM
Raddatz moves to Medicare and entitlements.

To re-state: Neither candidate is yielding any ground, and Ryan appears comfortable even on this big stage.

by Glen Johnson 10/12/2012 1:35:42 AM
Federal loan guarantees are specifically directed at high-risk infant industries. You have to expect some of the firms to fail. That's why the investors needed guarantees.

by Display Name:LawyerCalhoun edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:36:50 AM
We will, honor this promise...we need to reform the Medicare promise...Obama care spends money meant for Medicare.

by smurfy 10/12/2012 1:37:06 AM
The comment on unemployment in Scranton PA was classic. Biden looked like a fool.

by Dan 10/12/2012 1:37:19 AM
Ryan is like Benjamin Button. The longer he talks the younger he seems.

by tinadaunt 10/12/2012 1:37:44 AM
Ryan's foreign policy plan is the same as his debate plan. Just look good and talk with confidence, don't worry if it makes sense.

by bryangreenberg via twitter 10/12/2012 1:37:47 AM
The voucher program is one step closer to socialism.

by smurfy edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:38:11 AM
Would've been hard for Sarah Palin to bring up death panels in 08, as the VP debate came before IPAB was ever proposed

by ezraklein via twitter 10/12/2012 1:38:49 AM
Ryan notes his family benefited from Social Security after his father died. The program won’t change for current recipients, but he and Romney want to fix it for his and future generations. Ryan then segues to an attack on Obamacare, the Medicare changes it would create, and complains that when it comes to saving Social Security, “they haven’t put a credible plan on the table.”

Biden quips that he heard about Obamacare death panels “from Sarah Palin.” Then he pivots to Medicare, and says the administration has saved it. “They’d wipe all this out and Medicare becomes insolvent,” the vice president says. And, he complains, Ryan’s Medicare voucher plan costs more than the current program.

by Glen Johnson 10/12/2012 1:39:02 AM
Zinger! Paul Ryan: “They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar turning Medicare into a piggy bank for ObamaCare.”

by Matt Viser via twitter 10/12/2012 1:39:07 AM
This is a GREAT debate. Romans would have paid a lot of denarii to watch this.
#PMTdebate

by Piers Morgan via twitter 10/12/2012 1:39:14 AM
FACT CHECK: The Romney-Ryan voucher program for Medicare: Romney has proposed the introduction of Medicare premium support payments (vouchers) for seniors who enroll in 2023 and beyond. Seniors would use the vouchers to purchase private health insurance.

Romney would preserve the option of traditional, fee-for-service Medicare but, his website notes that “if it costs the government more to provide that service than it costs private plans to offer their versions, then the premiums charged by the government will have to be higher, and seniors will have to pay the difference to enroll in the traditional Medicare option.”

In Romney’s ideal scenario, competition among private insurers will hold down the cost of coverage, and his voucher program will provide seniors with the same care they would receive in traditional Medicare, at a lower price. A study by the conservative American Enterprise Institute suggests such a scenario is possible, and if things go according to Romney’s plan, seniors might not miss traditional Medicare.

Obama contends a more likely scenario is that vouchers fail to keep pace with the rising cost of health insurance, leaving seniors to pay large sums out of pocket. A study by the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund backs the president.

by Callum Borchers, Globe... 10/12/2012 1:40:06 AM
Biden is a fool. His only strategy is to interrupt. He has no content!

by Dan 10/12/2012 1:40:10 AM
ANALYSIS: REPRESENTATIVE RYAN is giving a forceful presentation that so far eclipses that of some past Republican vice presidential candidates who had little experience on the national stage, including Sarah Palin and Dan Quayle. Putting aside the question of whether his arguments are valid and his attacks fair, he comes across as prepared, well-spoken and aggressive. That will reassure Republicans and could be attractive to wavering Independents.

by Michael Kranish, Globe Staff 10/12/2012 1:40:27 AM
Joe Biden repeatedly interrupting Paul Ryan, with no heed to the rules of the debate.

by Matt Viser via twitter 10/12/2012 1:40:36 AM
In the south, the physicians are completely opposed to Obamacare. I hear it every day. People would be better served if we stopped interrupting each other, says Ryan.

by smurfy edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:40:42 AM
Ryan asked Biden to stop interrupting him. Good job.

by BabsSue 10/12/2012 1:40:47 AM
Trending hashtags you couldn't have predicted before debate : #malarkey #bunchofstuff

by Diane Sawyer via twitter 10/12/2012 1:40:50 AM
Congressman Ryan has an unfortunate staccato, chipmunk-like delivery.

by Nina1 edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:40:55 AM
@mviser That's not a Zinger...it is an outright lie !!

by haleherbert via twitter 10/12/2012 1:41:14 AM
@mviser Ryan's facts are all over the mat!

by Recourse99 via twitter 10/12/2012 1:41:30 AM
It is irritating that Biden keeps interrupting. I want to hear the stances and he won't allow it.

by Dan 10/12/2012 1:41:34 AM
Seems like there's a rule: TIp O'Neill must always be mentioned in a high-stakes national debate.

by Matt Viser via twitter 10/12/2012 1:41:49 AM
Ryan, like Romney, is a flip-flopper.

by jackmcinma edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:42:30 AM
Biden seems to have no idea of how to act with any class or dignity. Being a jerk isn't going to help sway voters.

by meandmyownself 10/12/2012 1:43:10 AM
What is Ryan flip-flopping on? He sounds so competent to me.

by Dan edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:43:26 AM
Ryan just owned up to privatizing Social Security.

by tinadaunt 10/12/2012 1:43:43 AM
People 55 and under are already saving madly for retirement. Why does Ryan think we can also save madly for health care in our "golden years"?

by JL 10/12/2012 1:44:26 AM
Anyone who says that Ryan is a flip-flopper is uninformed. The "cookie jar" statement is absolutely true.

by aBaystater 10/12/2012 1:44:27 AM
I don't believe Ryan is a flip flopper.

by BabsSue 10/12/2012 1:44:30 AM
Biden keeps interrupting; it's really annoying.

by Miguel edited by Teresa Hanafin, Boston.com 10/12/2012 1:44:47 AM
This is what politicians do when they don't have a record to run on....says Ryan

by smurfy 10/12/2012 1:45:03 AM
Ryan just got pummeled on his signature issue.

by tinadaunt 10/12/2012 1:45:17 AM
This debate gives me the same uneasy feeling I had during the entire gangsta rap era.

by danecook via twitter 10/12/2012 1:45:38 AM
Biden is so arrogant each time he interrupts and his constant chuckling is classless.

by BabsSue 10/12/2012 1:45:38 AM
The 47% is a big flip-flop-----a statement made in what Romney thought was private----once out in the open, they're trying to change----BIG FLIP-FLOP and a bad try at a cover-up!

by jackmcinma 10/12/2012 1:45:42 AM
Biden says that if the administration tried to privatize Social Security as George W. Bush wanted, imagine where seniors would be after the Great Recession and stock market crash. “Mr. Vice President, I know you’re under duress to make up lost ground, but I think the American people would be better served if we didn’t interrupt each other,” says Ryan after Biden cuts him off. Biden keeps cutting off Ryan, yet Ryan is largely keeping his cool.

Biden says the administration has made entitlements safe, “but we will not be part of any voucher plan.” Ryan replies that he is not proposing a voucher, and he quotes Obama from four years ago that if you don’t have fresh ideas, use stale attacks. Biden, who kept trying to interject a comment, finally says, “These guys have not been big on Medicare from the beginning.” Then, he adds, “Folks, who do you trust?”

by Glen Johnson 10/12/2012 1:45:58 AM
The three days Biden spent in a prep room just laughing into a mirror is really paying off #debate

by poniewozik via twitter 10/12/2012 1:46:10 AM
As a healthcare provider I can tell you my patients with Medicare get the care they need. Private insurance providers force me to spend time and resources trying to convince an unknown person sitting in front of a computer on the other side of the country that my patients need continued care. We already have "Death Panels" - they work for private insurance.

by Doktorphil 10/12/2012 1:46:10 AM
Ryan is shifting away from his own record. What's he running on? Romney's etch-a-sketch positions?

by JL 10/12/2012 1:46:27 AM