Well, that was quite a debate. Check out
Taegan Goddard's post-debate reaction: "The vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan was one of the best debates I can remember. It was a great service to all Americans." I could've done without all the lying (
#LyinRyan was trending on
supposedly conservative dominated Twitter last night), but close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. The consensus among the punditry is that Biden won. A
CBS flash poll of undecided voters backs that up. But the consensus is also that it probably won't move polling in Obama's direction. "
Biden stemmed the bleeding," seems to be the most overused metaphor of last night and this morning. But can a vice presidential debate change the dynamics? The consensus seems to be no, but the fact is that anything's possible.
Nate Silver:
Vice-presidential debates rarely move head-to-head numbers between the presidential candidates – even when there is a much clearer verdict in instant-reaction polls. So one should err on the side of caution in assuming that the debate had much influence either way. There is a plausible hypothesis, however, that some of Mr. Romney’s recent surge in the polls reflects a growing “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans. To the extent that Mr. Biden’s performance re-energized Democratic partisans, he may have left President Obama in a slightly better position than where he started the night.
And polling-wise, we'll probably see the president's numbers improve -- which likely would've happened anyway. But it's possible that they may improve dramatically. And that's where things get interesting...[
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