It's pretty clear that Biden's objective was to shore up the base. He probably did that. The problem for team Obama is that it is the independents and until-recently-undecideds who are moving to Romney in droves. Biden's performance did nothing to change that.

Early post-debate polls are showing that Ryan was the winner by about 10-15%. That just isn't good enough.

At this point, if Romney pulls down Ohio, he should win the electoral vote. Most polls are showing Romney with a small lead in Ohio. In the past week, Obama has lost Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. He's probably going to lose Colorado and Nevada also.