69-year-old Biden and 42-year-old Ryan clashed sharply on a range of issues ranging from economy, health care to foreign policy on Libya, Syria, Middle East, Afghanistan and Iran on a combative evening at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
According to CNN, while 48 per cent of the registered voters watching the prime-time debate said Ryan won as against Biden's 44 per cent. The poll, according to the channel, has a sampling error of five per cent, thus a tie between the two.
Another snap poll by CNBC said that 56 per cent thought Ryan has won the debate while 36 per cent thought the same for Biden. But a CBS News poll of uncommitted voters gives Biden 50 per cent edge to Ryan's 31 per cent.
Passionate and firm, Biden was on a mission to reverse Republican challenger Mitt Romney's polling surge, following his clear victory over President Obama in their first debate in Denver ahead of the November 6 presidential election.
Impressed by the strong performance of Biden, Obama, who watched the debate live on Air Force One, said that his Vice President performed terrific during the debate.
"I thought Joe Biden was terrific tonight. I could not be prouder of him. I thought he made a very strong case. I really think that his passion for making sure that the economy grows for the middle class came through. So I'm very proud of him," Obama told reporters in Miami.
Obama said he spoke with Biden immediately after the debate injected a new enthusiasm among the Democrats and the Obama Campaign.
"Vice President Biden won tonight's debate. In a clash between facts and conviction on one side and glib lines and empty promises on the other, tonight's debate exposed the extreme risk that Romney-Ryan economics pose for the American middle-class and to our leadership in the world," proclaimed Jim Messina, the Obama Campaign manager.