Video: 'Biden vs. Ryan: The 2012 vice presidential debate'

(Thursday, October 11, 2012, 9:00–10:30 p.m. EDT; during the 2012 United States presidential election campaign) — Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan fiercely quarreled at the only vice-presidential debate of the general election campaign tonight in Newlin Hall on the campus of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

The 90-minute debate, which unfolded in rapid tempo, offered a spirited airing of the sharp contrasts over the administration’s handling of the terrorist attack in Libya, the pace of the economic recovery at home, and the role of government in addressing the nation’s fiscal burdens.

While President Obama and Mitt Romney were not on stage, they were at the center of the conversation as their running mates made certain the evening was squarely focused on defining the men at the top of the ticket. But, under pressure to pass the test, Ryan displayed proficiency in areas like foreign policy and kept pace with Biden, who is 27 years his senior.

It was Biden who sought to quiet the rising clamor among Democrats that the president was not assertive enough with Romney at their first presidential debate last week in Denver. A day after Obama conceded he was “too polite,” Biden showed no hesitation in hectoring, heckling, and interrupting his challenger.

Within a single minute, Biden worked in three attacks on his rivals, referring to Romney’s opposition to the auto industry bailout, his statement that the foreclosure crisis would have to “run its course” and his comment about “47 percent” of Americans who he said were overreliant on government benefits.

“These guys bet against America all the time,” said Biden, whose temperature was running close to boil for most of the evening.

Ryan, who kept his composure for most of the night, suggested that Romney misspoke when talking about the 47 percent. He added pointedly, “I think the Vice President very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.”

But Biden retorted sharply: “But I always say what I mean. And so does Romney.”