Romney scoffs at Biden's scrappy debate performance

◼ "There was one person on stage last night who was thoughtful and respectful and steady and poised, the kind of person you'd want to turn to in a crisis," Romney said to cheers. "And that was the next vice president of the United States, Paul Ryan." - AP

◼ Romney says White House is ‘doubling down on denial’ about Libya attack - Anne Gearan/Washington Post

◼ Romney says Biden ‘doubling down on denial’ on Libya - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

◼ Dr. Strangelaugh - James Taranto/Wall Street Journal

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength," the longshoreman cum philosopher Eric Hoffer once observed. Hoffer died in 1983, so he probably wasn't referring specifically to Joe Biden's performance in last night's debate. Still, the observation is fitting. In addition to the vice president's boorishness, a lot of observers noted that he frequently smiled and chuckled at inappropriate times--even during a discussion of Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

...A smile is an instinctive gesture of submission. Often the submission is mutual, as when two friends exchange smiles or when Maestripieri's strangers break into small talk on the elevator. But when a man uncontrollably smiles at a potential or actual adversary, it is a show of weakness.

That isn't necessarily to say that Paul Ryan dominated Biden, although there is no question Ryan demonstrated self-control where Biden utterly lacked it. As some commentator or other (probably several of them) observed before the debate, Biden's assigned task was to "right the ship" after the Barack Obama disaster. Since the ship has a titanic design flaw--a gaping O-shaped hole right in the hull--that was an impossible task. Biden had ample reason to find the situation intimidating.

And so he overcompensated for his weakness by acting the bully in an attempt to dominate Ryan. His behavior was not only consistent with Hoffer's aphorism but in sharp contrast with that of Mitt Romney, who actually did dominate Obama in a coolly masterful way. If Biden's rudeness was an imitation of strength, Romney's poise was a display of the real thing....

◼ Ryan’s Benghazi Surprise - Larry Kudlow/National Review

The irony of ironies: The Biden-Ryan debate was more about foreign policy than the economy and jobs. And yet another irony: Paul Ryan, an expert on all things fiscal, revealed a much better knowledge base of foreign policy than anyone thought existed. Shows how smart and well-rounded he really is. In fact, Ryan’s Benghazi slam, right out of the chute, won him the debate. This terrorist attack is going to be a huge presidential-race issue. Americans are furious at the Obama-Biden-Clinton stupidity and mismanagement surrounding the tragic Benghazi deaths.

◼ Joe Biden’s laugh-filled debate wasn’t so funny on national security - NY Daily News

The veep told some tall ones about the Libya terror attack and about Iran’s nukes