GAME ON TONIGHT – AT 9:20 A.M. ET:  The sole vice-presidential debate will be held tonight, assuming Joe Biden remembers. 

Normally, vice-presidential debates don't change much.  But this year, with the sudden volatility in the race, things could be different.  Interest in the election, and in the Romney/Ryan team in particular, has increased dramatically.  People will want to know – and isn't this grand – whether Ryan can do a Romney.  From the Washington Times:

With President Obama looking to an unpredictable and gaffe-prone Joseph R. Biden to get his campaign back on track in Thursday’s debate, the pressure on the vice president couldn’t be greater.

Vice presidential match-ups usually don’t have the power to change the course of the election, but this year could be different. Mr. Biden is acutely aware that Mr. Obama’s dismal performance in his first faceoff with Republican rival Mitt Romney largely erased Mr. Obama’s lead in several key battleground states, ratcheting up the stakes for his performance Thursday night at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

As Mr. Obama’s No. 2, Mr. Biden doesn’t have the burden of looking presidential, so can bare some teeth and punch hard against Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Romney’s running mate. But getting too loose and looking angry against Mr. Ryan, a budget expert 27 years his junior, could easily backfire on the vice president, leading him to veer off script and reminding viewers of Sen. John McCain’s grumpy 2008 debate performance against Mr. Obama, who remained calm and collected.

With this in mind, Mr. Biden has been assiduously preparing for his prime-time clash with Mr. Ryan. Holed up for much of the week in a hotel in Wilmington, Del., the vice president has been scrutinizing videos of Mr. Ryan’s speeches and interviews, and holding mock debates against Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, who is playing Mr. Ryan in debate preparation, as well as David Axelrod, a senior adviser in the Obama campaign.

COMMENT:  We'll watch tonight.  It should be a good show.  Ryan is young.  Biden came to Washington during the Nixon administration.  That was before home computers or cable networks. 

By the way, Rasmussen just reported Obama up one point over Romney in the presidential race.  Not to worry.  That's the statistical noise in a close contest, but it shows that this race is far from won.  Fight on.  Romney/Ryan must fight as if they're 20 points down.

October 11, 2012