The Hiller Instinct: Ryan Won VP Debate

High stakes, high drama!

You wanted it; you got it!

And--when it was over--what you also got was Paul Ryan, a rookie running for national office for the first time, outdebating Joe Biden, a sitting vice president.

From the first question--about the terrorist attack in Libya--Biden was put on the defensive.

He did the best he could to make Mitt Romney the target, but rarely succeeded.

He did a much better job of supporting President Obama.

I don't know what you made of Biden's big dismissive grins of disbelief while Ryan was talking, but, to me, they were rude.

I also thought Biden was too loud and too impatient.

Ryan--as promised--was a wonk, who knows the budget inside and out.

More surprising was his composure in the face of Biden's attacks, and his sense of humor.

So, I thought Paul Ryan won this debate.

He effectively criticized the president's performance. He was reasonable, and certainly not scary.

Ironically, despite their actual ages, I also thought Ryan was more mature than Biden.

This debate was all about the campaign dynamics following the Obama/Romney faceoff last week.

For me, it's easy to analyze:

For Democrats, Joe Biden didn't stop the bleeding

and for Republicans, Paul Ryan didn't stop the momentum.