FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- Joining a chorus of Democratic mockery with puns aimed at GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Vice President Joe Biden warned a Floridian crowd late Friday that "Romnesia" is a communicable disease that also appears to have been contracted by the Republican's running mate.

"The president has a new term for this sort of ability to change your mind so quickly: He calls it 'Romnesia,'" Biden said, echoing the president's new line from a Virginia appearance earlier today. "Boy, I tell you what, I hope y'all don't get Romnesia. It's a bad disease. It's a bad disease and it is contagious."

The crowd guffawed as Biden mock-explained how the illness has spread to Rep. Paul Ryan as well.

"All of sudden Paul Ryan the budget hawk- the guy that introduced a whole budget that already passed ... the House of Representatives," Biden explained. "All of sudden he doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember what it does to the vital programs that mean so much to working people."

The punnery has been met with eye rolls from many Republicans even as Democrats insist the branding of Romney as an indecisive Don Draper will remind independent voters of their distrust for the former Massachusetts governor.

"The latest rhetoric from President Obama and Vice President Biden tells voters everything they need to know about their campaign," said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. "While the president and vice president desperately resort to the kind of campaign they once denounced, Mitt Romney is focused on getting Americans back to work and delivering a real economic recovery."

While in Florida, Biden also introduced a new prop for his recently unveiled riff on Romney's position on women's rights.

"On Tuesday when Governor Romney was asked a direct question at the last debate whether or not women deserved equal pay for equal work, what was his answer?" he said, brandishing an actual folio. "Binders! he started talking about binders!"

Updated 5:04 p.m.: LAS VEGAS -- Vice President Joe Biden drew a rebuke from Republicans on Thursday after he referenced GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's policy manifesto, "Young Guns," by warning that "the bullets are aimed at you."

After Biden mentioned the book, which Ryan co-wrote with two other top House Republicans, a man in the crowd of about 500 at a Las Vegas union hall yelled out "they have guns with no bullets!" 

"Unfortunately, the bullets are aimed at you," Biden said, to mirth from the boisterous crowd.

The exchange prompted an immediate statement from Romney spokesman Brendan Buck, who decried the language as "over the top."

"Today's over-the-top rhetoric by Vice President Biden is disappointing, but not all that surprising," Buck wrote. "In the absence of a vision or a plan to move the country forward, the Vice President is left only with ugly political attacks beneath the dignity of the office he occupies."

No stranger to controversy, Biden faced heavy scrutiny in August for telling a heavily black audience in southern Virginia that Romney's Wall Street deregulation would "put y'all back in chains."

Ironically, Biden opened his remarks in Nevada by doing something he often does: joking about his propensity to veer off-script.

"The vice president’s exchange with an audience member today was clearly a reference to how the policies discussed in Paul Ryan’s book, 'Young Guns,' would devastate the middle class," said Amy Dudley, a campaign spokeswoman for the vice president. "Given that people don't assume that Paul Ryan is literally a gun, it probably makes sense not to assume that Joe Biden was speaking literally about bullets."

The Sin City stop was Biden's last campaign event of a 2-day western swing that focused heavily on women's issues and immigration.

In Las Vegas, Biden warned that a Romney presidency would likely erase the gains of advocates of abortion rights.

"After these debates, you have any doubt who they will likely appoint to the Supreme Court of the United States," Biden said. "How much chance do you think Roe v. Wade will survive after four years of a Romney Supreme Court?"

He also uncorked a new zinger, adapted from yesterday's full news cycle of Democrats labellng Romney's plans as "sketchy."

"Well folks, I don't think they were just sketchy," he declared. "I think they were etch-a-sketchy!"

GREELEY, Colo. -- Nearly a week after a feisty debate performance, Vice President Joe Biden is still displaying a high level of energy on the campaign trail.

Campaigning in swing state Colorado for the first time this year, an energetic Biden -- punctuating his remarks with "whoa"s and "c'mon"s -- came equipped with zingers about GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's statements about equal pay and immigration during last night's presidential debate at Hofstra University.

"You heard the debate last night," the vice president told a crowd of about a thousand at a warehouse-like expo center in red-leaning Weld County. "When Governor Romney was asked a direct question about equal pay, he started talking about binders. Whoa! The idea that he had to go and ask where a qualified woman was, he just should have come to my house!"

Repeating a criticism from this morning's interview circuit, Biden said that Romney was "a little sketchy" on details last night, as was Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan during the two men's mano-a-mano in Kentucky last week.

"The answers are always the same: 'Maybe. It depends. We'll let you know after the election,'" Biden said of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

In Greeley, where the 2010 Census estimated the Hispanic population was 36 percent, Biden also took aim at Romney's January embrace of "self-deportation" as a solution to address illegal immigration.

"I mean, I don't care what your position is on immigration. Self-deportation?" Biden said to laughter. "Whoa! Every 13-year-old, get up and move, man!"

While he issued a broad salvo about Romney's grasp of foreign policy, Biden did not mention the controversy that erupted after the two candidates tussled over Obama's use of the word "terror" to describe the September 11 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.

Instead, he poked fun at the Romney team's occasional reference to "the Soviet Union" as well as Romney's expressed concern about Russia as the nation's top geopolitical threat. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "These guys are kind of in a time warp!"

The vice president travels this afternoon to Reno, NV for another campaign event.

The Romney campaign has been sending around blog posts (here and here) from conservatives today reporting that a tale Vice President Joe Biden told about playing football at the University of Delaware from 50 years ago was false.

So First Read decided to check it out (especially considering your author is a Fightin' Blue Hen).

The reports seize on Biden's twice-repeated story about a 1963 trip to Ohio University for a football game. During visits to the college town of Athens, Ohio, over the last two political cycles, Biden has related the PG-rated Animal House-esque story of an encounter with police after he says he accidentally found himself in a girl's dormitory -- cause for punishment at the time. 

"I came, I was a football player," Biden said during a recent trip to the Buckeye State town. "I came here in 1963, and I had to go back, I just double checked my memory – you know, you get my age and you’re not so sure of it, you know, your glory days look more glorious than they really were and all that, so we went back on the Internet and I just want you to know, I came here in October 1963, and we beat you Bobcats 29-12…" 

Before launching into the same story during a campaign stop in 2008, he told an Athens audience, "I went to the University of Delaware, and we came out here to play Ohio University." 

So was Biden a “football player”? It appears so, but not quite in the way he appeared to suggest during his trip to Athens during this campaign.

“We don’t have him as lettering for freshman football or varsity,” Kevin Tritt, assistant sports information director at the University of Delaware, told First Read. “We don’t have the freshman team playing Ohio University in 1963. We don’t have any record of the freshman team playing there.”

The varsity team did play Ohio University that year and won. And Biden got the score right.

Biden wrote in his memoir that he played briefly on the freshman team, but quit after one semester because of poor academic performance.

"When my first-semester grades came out, my Mom and Dad told me I wouldn't be playing spring football," he wrote in "Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics." 

Two years later, Biden -- his grades having improved -- once again believed he had a shot at starting on the team, but he told his coach he planned on spending precious weekends with his wife-to-be Neilia instead. 

The Sports Information Office at Delaware says it’s likely Biden did, in fact, play on the freshman team, but not long enough to letter and left the team before the season was over.

Even if Biden were a member of his freshman football team, it wouldn’t have been in 1963. Biden, a 1965 University of Delaware graduate, would have been a freshman in 1961.

It is possible Biden did go to the game in question -- and get into the trouble he joked about he did. But if he did, it was as a spectator.

*** UPDATE *** The vice president's office sent First Read a quote from legendary Delaware coach Tubby Raymond, for whom the school's football stadium is now named after, saying, "He was on the team!"

An aide said Biden did go to the game and, citing his memoir, said he made the varsity team in the spring of his junior year, but did not play in the fall of his junior year when Delaware played Ohio.

"The Vice President went to Athens with the University of Delaware football team to cheer," an aide said. "As he makes clear in his statement, he played football, but not during the fall of his junior year."

From page 94 of Biden's memoir, per the campaign: "I carried 37 hours the next two semesters, with decent grades, even while taking another run at the football team. I hadn’t played for two years, but I surprised the coaches by moving up the depth chart fast. After the annual spring game that April, it looked like I had a shot to start at starting defensive back. I couldn’t wait for next September; I could almost see the fall season unfold in my head. So I was feeling pretty good when I headed to Florida for spring break after our last practice. That trip changed everything."

*** UPDATE 2 *** Oct. 18, 2012: The director of Sports Information at the University of Delaware, Scott Selheimer, clarifies Biden's football career at UD:

"Joe Biden DID play on the 1961 University of Delaware freshman team, but did not finish out the season in order to earn a letter. He later came out for the team in the spring of 1963 and took part in practices, but did not end up playing varsity football in the fall of 1963 when the official competition season takes place. Thus he was not listed on the roster."

Domenico Montanaro is a 2001 University of Delaware graduate -- and also played football at Delaware, with the [Butt]-Kickin’ Chickens, which won the Blue League Intramural flag-football championship in 2000… he thinks.

Carrie Dann contributed to this report. 

The day after a vice presidential debate remarkable for its rhetorical pyrotechnics, Joe Biden was still at it. 

Calling opponent Rep. Paul Ryan "a decent guy" for whom he has "great respect," the vice president nonetheless blasted his counterpart's debate remarks on abortion and the "negative" attitude he says the Republican ticket has towards the future of the country. 

"I've never seen two candidates for the highest office in the land who are more negative about this country and its prospects than the people we're running against," Biden said at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. 

The vice president -- who, like Ryan, is Catholic -- took particular aim at Ryan's response to moderator Martha Raddatz's questioning on abortion, accusing his opponent of failing to separate his church's teachings from Americans' rights. 

"Congressman Ryan made it very clear that he and Gov. Romney are prepared to impose their private views on everyone else," he said. "It was made clear last night that they don't believe in protecting a woman's access to health care. It was made very clear that they do not believe a woman has a right to control her own body." 

Biden also knocked Republicans for attempting to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood, "which under law can not perform any abortions." While Planned Parenthood is prohibited from allocating federal funding for abortion, the organization does offer abortion services in addition to contraceptive and preventative health care for women. 

Linking the GOP ticket's domestic policies to Ryan's remarks on the possibility of keeping American soldiers in Afghanistan beyond a hard 2014 deadline, Biden also charged Ryan with changing his views on basic issues day-to-day. 

"When asked, 'do you guarantee you'll get out,?' [Ryan] said, it depends," Biden said as students jeered the Ryan statement. "Like almost everything, it depends. It depends on which day you ask him the question!" 

The Romney camp responded that Biden's message today continued the "dishonest attacks" lobbed by the Obama team yesterday. 

"Just like during last night’s debate, Vice President Biden was unable to describe any vision for the future and used dishonest attacks and distortions to distract from his failed record," wrote Romney spokesman Ryan Williams in a statement. 

Biden — who gently chastised students who booed Ryan's name but noted that "I hardly agree with anything he says" — was Thursday night criticized by some observers for being overly aggressive in the feisty debate. His frequent laughter and exaggerated gestures of incredulity grabbed the attention of seasoned journalists and internet meme-generators alike. 

But the vice president told an audience of hundreds that the boisterous contest merely illustrated the stark differences between the two camps.

"[For] anyone who watched that debate," he said. "I don’t think there’s any doubt that, Congressman Ryan and I and Gov. Romney and the President ... have a fundamentally different vision for America. And quite frankly, a fundamentally different value set."

Domenico Montanaro looks back on Romney's polling bounce. Plus, Democrats hope Vice President Biden's debate performance made a positive difference.

Mitt Romney seized Friday on Vice President Joe Biden's characterization of the administration's handling of last month's terrorist attack in Libya, accusing the administration of contradicting itself and "doubling down on denial."

The Republican presidential nominee praised the performance of his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, at an early afternoon rally in Virginia, Romney's first since last night's vice presidential debate.

Steve Helber / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to the crowd as he arrives for a rally in Richmond, Va., Friday, Oct. 12, 2012.

Republicans have homed in, though, upon Biden's explanation last night of the Obama administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The vice president said "we did not know" that the post in Benghazi had asked for more security that day, the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. But that assertion differs from the testimony of State Department officials, who told lawmakers this week that they had, in fact, asked for increased security resources.

On Friday, Romney pounced.

"The vice president directly contradicted the sworn testimony of State Department officials," Romney said at a rally in Richmond, Va. "He's doubling down on denial."

Related: Biden plays aggressor in debate as Ryan argues GOP case

The Republican ticket has sought to turn the incident in Benghazi into an opportunity to distinguish itself from President Barack Obama on matters of foreign policy. Obama has led Romney on most issues of foreign policy and national security in the polls, though the GOP nominee has been able to gain traction on Libya due to some of the administration's own missteps.

The Obama administration, for instance, had initially maintained that the attack in Libya was the spontaneous outgrowth of protests related to an American video that portrayed Islam in an unflattering manner. But that explanation shifted in the weeks following the attack, and the administration eventually acknowledged that the mission in Libya was the target of a coordinated terrorist attack.

"As they learned more facts about exactly what happened, they changed their assessment," Biden explained of the evolving explanation during last night's debate.

The vice president also accused Romney of reacting haphazardly in the immediate aftermath of the attack, when the Republican nominee appeared on-camera hours after Stevens's death to accuse the administration of sympathizing with the attackers and apologizing for American values by way of condemning the video on Islam.

"Gov. Romney, before he knew the facts, before he even knew that our ambassador was killed, he was out making a political statement which was panned by the media around the world," Biden argued yesterday evening.

Related: Ryan wades deep into lengthy Afghanistan argument

But the Obama campaign's deputy manager, Stephanie Cutter, also invited Republican attacks -- including an indirect reference from Ryan during last night's debate -- for telling CNN that Romney and Ryan were to blame for turning the Libya incident into a political hot potato.

Romney, at his Virginia rally today, argued that voters are entitled to answers.

"We need to understand exactly what happened as opposed to just have people brush this aside," the Republican nominee argued. "When the vice president of the United States directly contradicts the testimony -- sworn testimony -- of State Department officials, American citizens have a right to know just what's going on. And we're going to find out. And this is the time for us to make sure we do find out."

Romney otherwise lionized his running mate for his debate performance, describing Ryan as "thoughtful and respectful and steady and poised" versus Biden's more visible mannerisms and aggressive style of debating.

Biden, the aggressor … His performance was therapeutic for base Democrats, but Ryan held his own. … It was Scranton Joe vs. Think Tank Ryan, heart vs. head … Both Biden and Ryan accomplished their goals … But Biden struggled on Libya … Ryan struggled on stimulus, abortion … The ball moves to Obama. His challenge – searching for Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold. … Biden-Ryan didn’t come to blows but Berman-Sherman almost did …and things get nasty in Arizona.

DANVILLE, Ky. -- If there was something both sides agreed on last night, it was this: Joe Biden was aggressive at last night’s vice-presidential debate. Now, Republicans thought he was too aggressive (with his interruptions, laughs, and facial expressions), and Democrats thought he was just right. After last week’s presidential debate, Biden threw the kitchen sink at both Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney -- on issues that President Obama didn't touch in Denver. He brought up Mitt Romney’s “47%” comment. “It [Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout] shouldn’t be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives.”

He brought up Osama bin Laden, resurrecting Romney’s 2007 line that he “wouldn’t move heaven and earth to get bin Laden." And Biden tried to score points on the issue of abortion. “I guess he accepts Gov. Romney's position now, because in the past he has argued that there was … rape and forcible rape.” More than anything, Biden's performance was therapeutic for base Democrats after Obama's dud in Denver.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

DANVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 11: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the vice presidential debate at Centre College October 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. This is the second of four debates during the presidential election season and the only debate between the vice presidential candidates before the closely-contested election November 6. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

*** Scranton Joe vs. Think Tank Ryan: So who won? If you judge a debate on who took the fight to his opponent, who best defended his top of the ticket, and who best attacked the other side, you’d have to say it was Biden. (Indeed, by our count, Biden said “Romney” 26 times, while Ryan said “Obama” or “the president” 14 times.)  If you judge a debate purely on style points, Biden might get penalized. And if you judge a debate by who best plays it safe -- especially on issue terrain that’s not your comfort zone -- then Paul Ryan scored well.

Related: Biden plays aggressor in debate as Ryan argues GOP case

That’s probably why the two insta-polls after the debate seemed to indicate a split decision. CBS’s poll of “undecideds” gave it to Biden. CNN’s poll of ALL voters went to Ryan. Both men had two different strategies: Biden was there to energize his side after last week and draw a clear contrast with his opposition, especially on issues like abortion and foreign policy. Ryan, meanwhile, was there to look competent, pass the presidential threshold test and do no harm as we head into next week’s second presidential debate.

Related: Ryan wades deep into lengthy Afghanistan argument

They both accomplished their goals but did it with two very different styles: It was Scranton Joe vs. Think Tank Ryan. Heart vs. head. And as political commentator Matthew Dowd, who worked for the Bush campaign but for Democrats before that put it on Twitter: “Heart wins.”

Slideshow: A look at Biden

A glimpse over the years at U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

Launch slideshow

*** Fine lines: Biden needed to walk a fine line between gravitas and condescension. At times, he accomplished that; at times, he didn't. He did, however, appear more knowledgeable with one GIANT exception – Libya. When he said, stunningly, that the administration was unaware of security requests, it may have been the most significant news of the night (more on that below). Ryan needed to look presidential, and you could say he accomplished that, but he also sometimes seemed overmatched by the more aggressive Biden on foreign policy and even on SOME fiscal issues, like the stimulus. Ryan struggled to explain his letter requesting stimulus money despite criticizing the program. In all, Biden did what he needed to do – re-energize the base after the president's lackluster performance a week ago and stop the handwringing and fretting. He did that. Now, the ball moves back to the president, with a different style than Biden that has more appeal to independents and undecideds. Ryan’s job was not to blow the lead for Romney, become an unexpected problem. And he did that. Now it’s up to Romney to see if he can win two debates in a row, something he needs to do if he’s going to not just draw EVEN with the presidential in the battlegrounds, but surpass him.

*** Ryan struggled on abortion: Where Ryan struggled the most, interestingly, was on abortion. And don’t be surprised if we see Obama pick up the same attack. When moderator Martha Raddatz asked if a Romney-Ryan ticket should worry those who want abortion to remain legal, Ryan replied, “We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people through their elected representatives in reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process should make this determination.” Biden pounced, “The next president will get one or two Supreme Court nominees. That's how close Roe v. Wade is. Just ask yourself, with Robert Bork being the chief adviser on the court for -- for Mr. Romney, who do you think he's likely to appoint?”

Slideshow: Vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan

Larry Downing / Reuters

See images from throughout his career in Washington, D.C.

Launch slideshow

*** Where Biden struggled was on Libya and the Benghazi attack: “We weren't told they wanted more security,” Biden said. “And by the way at the time, we said exactly what the intelligence community told us that they knew, that was the assessment." But as NBC’s Andrea Mitchell has pointed out, the State Department DID know that requests for more security resources had been made -- and were turned down. In fact, a State Department official acknowledged that while testifying on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Considering the timing of this debate, yesterday’s Capitol Hill hearing and the Tuesday full tick-tock of what REALLY happened in Benghazi, it’s shocking Biden didn’t have a better answer than what he said. His strategy for the debate was, give the minimum answer and move to Iraq and Afghanistan. Not sure that can work for the president.

*** Looking ahead to next week – in search of Goldilocks: The pressure is still on Obama in next week's town hall-style debate in New York. But make no mistake: Biden -- by turning his volume to 11 last night -- takes some of that pressure off the president. If you've followed Obama over the past six years, you know it's not his style to be overly aggressive. Well, Biden last night both gave Obama a roadmap for how to attack Romney-Ryan (on abortion, tax fairness, foreign policy), and he gave him room to do it in the way he feels most comfortable. The question is: Can he deliver? And can Romney deliver another solid performance? Obama is looking for a Goldilocks' performance. Obama in Denver was too cold, Biden in Danville might have been too hot, and Obama, the sequel, has to figure out how to be just the right combination of assertive without being condescending. On to Hofstra!

*** Berman vs. Sherman (literally, folks!): A lot of boxing metaphors are thrown around before and after debates. No one expects there to be a REAL fight. Of last night’s Biden-Ryan showdown, at least you can say they respected one another – enough not to come to blows, anyway. The same CAN”T be said of a debate last night between two DEMOCRATIC congressman. The L.A. Times: “The bitter race for a San Fernando Valley congressional district took a bizarre turn Thursday when Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) got into a near-altercation during a forum at Pierce College. Video of the event in Woodland Hills shows the candidates exchanging words and Sherman at one point putting his arm around Berman, saying: ‘Do you want to get into this?’ A uniformed officer then came onto the stage and appeared to ask that they move away from each other.” Sherman, by the way, who initiated the touching has apologized.

*** Raising Arizona: And speaking of nasty, don't miss what's happening down in the open Arizona Senate race. Rep. Jeff Flake (R) went up with an ad featuring Richard Carmona’s (D) former boss, who says Carmona angrily pounded on her door in the middle of the night, and it was Carmona. “Carmona’s not who he seems,” she says looking directly to camera. “He has issues with anger, with ethics, and with women. … Richard Carmona should never, ever be in the U.S. Senate.” Carmona responded with an ad of his own, showing pictures of his family, a former female co-worker from his SWAT team, him talking to children, and the famous picture of him rappelling from a helicopter to save a man. “When I see a career politician like Jeff Flake attacking Rich Carmona, who has spent his life helping others, it’s despicable,” the co-worker says. “Congressman Flake should be ashamed.”

*** On the trail: Fresh off of his debate performance, Ryan heads to Ohio where he’ll hit a rally with Romney in Lancaster at 5:40 pm ET… Before that, Romney campaigns in Richmond, VA at 12:10 pm ET… Meanwhile, Joe and Jill Biden stump in La Crosse, WI at 2:00 pm ET.

Countdown to 2^nd presidential debate: 4 days
Countdown to 3^rd presidential debate: 10 days
Countdown to Election Day: 25 days

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter. Follow us @chucktodd, @mmurraypolitics, @DomenicoNBC, @brookebrower

Vice President Joe Biden came out swinging against his Republican opponent, Paul Ryan, in Thursday’s lone vice presidential debate with a readily evident determination to avoid repeating President Barack Obama’s laconic performance in last week’s presidential debate.

Biden went at Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman who agreed to serve as GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate two months ago, from the very outset of a freewheeling debate in Danville, Ky., that saw the two candidates bicker frequently and differ sharply on policy and politics alike. 

Poll: Did the vice presidential debate influence who you will support in the election?

The vice president threw up his arms, laughed, scoffed and rolled his eyes in reaction to Ryan’s attacks – an unabashedly reaction to what Biden frequently called “malarkey” offered up by the House Budget Committee chairman in his opinion. 

The debate featured many of the fireworks that last Thursday’s initial debate between Obama and Romney had lacked. While Ryan stuck to familiar talking points used often by Romney on the stump, the vice presidential nominee hardly shrunk from engaging with Biden but largely engaging the vice president’s bombast. 

Related: Truth Squad: The vice presidential debate

The 90-minute affair at Centre College saw both Biden and Ryan playing to type. Biden was emotional and folksy but could barely contain his reactions to his opponent. Ryan maintained a more earnest demeanor, and often turned to statistics and anecdotes to make his case as the discussion shifted from events in Libya to Medicare and abortion. 

Biden’s response to Ryan’s proposals to reform Medicare into a “premium support” or voucher system was a typical refrain for the vice president: “Folks, use your common sense: who do you trust on this?” 

Ryan stuck largely to familiar and well-studied talking points used often by Romney and the GOP ticket on the campaign trail, but showed no interest in shrinking from the vice president’s bombast. The congressman stuck to his expertise as a budget wunderkind to explain reforms to entitlements and taxes and balancing the budget.  

Biden has been a frequent critic on the campaign trail of Ryan’s two budgets for their proposed changes to Medicare. The most recent version of the proposal would offer seniors a rebate to buy insurance on the private market, or opt into a Medicare program as it’s more traditionally known. 

“A voucher is you go to your mailbox, get a check, and buy something. Nobody's proposing that. Barack Obama four years ago running for president said if you don't have any fresh ideas, use stale tactics to scare voters,” Ryan said. “If you don't have a good record to run on, paint your opponent as someone people should run from – make a big election about small ideas.” 

Biden’s determination to be the aggressor shone through the debate, though, to his exchange with Ryan on the topic of taxes. As Ryan cited tax cuts sought by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Biden seemingly attempted to channel the famous Lloyd Bensten line used against Dan Quayle by quipping, “Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy?” 

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan shake hands at the conclusion of the vice presidential debate in Danville, Ky.

The vice presidential debate set the stage for the two remaining contests between Obama and Romney left before Election Day. The first of those debates is on Tuesday, where Obama will hope to channel the energy displayed by his vice president this evening. 

Ryan, meanwhile, will join Romney for a joint rally on Friday in the all-important swing state of Ohio, where both men have concentrated much of their efforts lately in a bow toward the state’s central role in charting a path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.

Ryan accused the Obama administration of not properly protecting the ambassador.

“What we should not be doing is rejecting claims for calls for more security in our barracks we need marines in Benghazi when the commander on the ground says we need more forces for security there were requests for extra security, those requests were not honored,” Ryan said.

Biden called the deaths a tragedy, but he then claimed that the Obama administration did not know that the ambassador and other  personnel on the ground had been more asking for more security.

“We weren't told they wanted more security,” Biden said. “We did not know they wanted more security men and, by the way, at the time, we said exactly what the intelligence community told us that they knew, that was the assessment."

But the State Department did know that requests for more security resources had been made and were turned down.  A State Department official acknowledged that testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

"Imagine had we let the Republican Congress work out the sanctions," said Biden. "You think there's any possibility the entire world would have joined us, Russia and China, all of our allies? These are the most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions. Period."

Biden is mostly correct: the administration did marshal international support for the most crippling sanctions, although they did not want to sanction Iran's central bank until Congress forced the president to do so.

Spending
Biden accused Ryan of being a big government spender.

Ryan voted for the Bush tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the expansion of Medicare to cover prescription drugs -- all of which Biden says added to the deficit.

“And, by the way, they talk about this Great Recession if it fell out of the sky, like, ‘Oh, my goodness, where did it come from?’” Biden said. “It came from this man voting to put two wars on a credit card, to at the same time put a prescription drug benefit on the credit card, a trillion-dollar tax cut for the very wealthy. I was there. I voted against them. I said, no, we can't afford that.”

But looking at Biden’s own Senate votes, he voted for an early version of that Medicare prescription drug coverage. But later, Biden did not support the final Medicare drug benefit that President George W. Bush signed into law.

And the vice president was incorrect when he suggested tonight that he did not support the two wars because the country could "not afford" them. Biden voted for both wars.

Medicare
There was a sharp disagreement over Medicare. Biden charged that Ryan’s original plan would raise out-of-pocket costs.

“Look, folks, use your common sense,” Biden said. “Who do you trust on this -- a man who introduced a bill that would raise it 40 -- $6,400 a year; knowing it and passing it, and Romney saying he'd sign it, or me and the president?”

Ryan objected.