Biden debates well but onus still on Obama
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WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden's assertive debate effort righted the Democratic ship but the pressure is still on Barack Obama to come back from his own dismal performance if he wants a second term.
Mr Obama's re-election hopes have hung in the balance since Mitt Romney knocked him about for 90 minutes on October 3 in the first presidential debate, with the incumbent seeming passive and putting up little resistance.
Mr Biden stepped up to the plate on Thursday night (Friday Spore time) needing a more robust performance if he was to slow the momentum of the Republican ticket, with Mr Romney having seized the lead in several national opinion polls.
"The most obvious takeaway was how much more combative it was," Charles Franklin, politics professor and co-founder of Pollster.com, told AFP. "If the Democrats wanted Biden to be more aggressive, they certainly got that.
