President Obama quickly praised his running mate’s performance in the vice presidential debate on Thursday night, declaring Joe Biden’s efforts “terrific.”

“I could not be prouder of him. I thought he made a very strong case,” Obama told reporters on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland as he returned from a day of campaigning in Florida. “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.”

The president said he watched the debate between Biden and Rep. Paul D. Ryan from Air Force One and then called Biden to congratulate him.

DEBATE TRANSCRIPT: Read the arguments


Obama might also have reason to thank him.

The president’s lackluster performance in his first debate against GOP nominee Mitt Romney all but evaporated a surge of momentum behind his campaign. In his debate against Ryan, Biden does not appear to have exacerbated the Obama campaign’s problem and may have helped tee up the president for his second debate.

Obama and Romney will face off again Tuesday at a town-hall debate on New York’s Long Island.

kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com


Twitter: @khennessey