Vice Presidential Smackdown! Watch the Full Biden vs. Ryan Debate

October 12, 2012 from PBS NewsHour

Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan, went head-to-head in the 2012 vice presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky. Moderated by Martha Raddatz, the candidates talked about domestic and international issues, including the attacks on Libya, Medicare, taxes and the deficit, their Catholic faith, and the Afghanistan withdrawal.

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Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, jointly elected with President Barack Obama. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973, until his resignation on Janua... Explore this topic

Paul Ryan

Paul Davis Ryan is the United States Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district and current chairman of the House Budget Committee. He was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2012 election. He was born and raised in Janesv... Explore this topic

US presidential election, 2012

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic nominee, incumbent President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were re-elected to a second term,... Explore this topic

US presidential election debates, 2012

On October 31, 2011, the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced four debates for the 2012 U.S. presidential general election, slated for various locations around the United States in October 2012 – three of them involving the major party presidential nominees,... Explore this topic

Medicare

In the United States, Medicare is a national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government since 1965, that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older and younger people with disabilities as well as people with end stage renal... Explore this topic

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States, Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. The executive branch is head... Explore this topic

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the second highest public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term of... Explore this topic

2012 US diplomatic missions attacks

On September 11, 2012, the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, were attacked during protests over media excerpts of a trailer for a purported film titled Innocence of Muslims, which was considered by the attackers to be blasphemous against the ... Explore this topic

US economy

Throughout this article, the unqualified term "dollar" and the $ symbol refer to the US dollar. The economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its nominal GDP was estimated to be over $15 trillion in 2011, approximately a quarter of nominal global GD... Explore this topic

Running mate

A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis an... Explore this topic

Also See

Joe Biden

Paul Ryan

US presidential election, 2012