For anyone that was trying to watch with a non partisan eye I Think a few things can be agreed upon:
1. Biden controlled the debate and bullied Ryan and the moderator around which was very effective in 'winning' the debate
2. Ryan got caught in a few tough spots, but battled out of them pretty admirably. He always seemed to wiggle out to the next question
3. Both debaters landed some good shots, Biden landed a few more heavy blows, but Ryan stayed in throwing punches to the end
4. Biden's demeanor played very well for the Democratic base but had much less affect, and even some negative affects (I never know how to use effect/affect) on undecided voters. Obviously Pubs thought he was smug and immature.
5. Overall I give the debate to Biden, but I think the margin is almost minimal. Biden made gains in exciting his party while losing a bit of independent steam because of his demeanor. Ryan stayed in the ring with a seasoned veteran who is the sitting VP and has massive amount of debate and political experience.
I think a lot of Pubs are relieved that Ryan didn't wet the bed. As much as I like Ryan, there was a disaster potential to this debate. Biden tried to bully him into making a big mistake, and Ryan never fell for it. As a conservative my favorite point of the debate was when Ryan very calmly told Biden "Joe, I know you have been under a lot of pressure lately, but I think the American people would be much better served if we didn't interrupt each other all the time". Brilliant move of leadership. He didn't put all the blame on Biden (he said 'if we didn't interrupt') but he made it very clear that he was tired of Biden trying to speak all over him and answer his questions.
Biden won the debate, there isn't much 'debate' about that fact. But Ryan didn't lose the debate, and the information coming back from the polls suggests this was not an epic blowout. Biden won by going to the cards. I truly don't believe this debate changes anything; not because the VP debate is meaningless, but simply because there was no game changing event either candidate can build on.
When the president is using his own poor debate performance as an ice breaker on the campaign trail, you know things went bad for him. I Think Ryan and Romney probably left last night's debate feeling pretty pleased with Ryan's performance. It wasn't perfect, but he competed for the full 90 minutes. Biden came in with a strategy, implemented it perfectly and had a great debate. I am just not sure the bully technique is going to sell as well for independents.