Last night’s CNN Instapoll was good for Paul Ryan, not so much because he won it 48–44 — the margin of error could well wipe that out — but because he did so much better than Joe Biden in other areas. When asked who was more likeable, 53 percent of respondents chose Ryan and 43 percent went for Biden. Likewise, when asked who was more in touch with the problems of people like them, 51 percent swung for Ryan, while 44 percent selected Biden.
Granted, it’s an Instapoll gauging the reaction of a debate that tends to make little difference to the outcome of anything. But if Joe Biden had succeeded in painting Ryan as a bookish, out-of-touch granny starver, you’d have expected that to show up. He didn’t. It didn’t. Debate advantage remains with Romney.