Biden's JFK quip sparks Twitter frenzy

Catalina Camia | USATODAY

Vice President Biden's quip to rival Paul Ryan about John F. Kennedy during their debate Thursday night turned out to be the highlight of the night on Twitter.

The social media site said Biden's line -- "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy" -- generated 58,275 tweets per minute (TPM) at its peak.

Biden's comment came as the GOP vice presidential nominee was defending the plan by Mitt Romney team's to cut tax rates by 20% and close loopholes and reductions to pay for such a move. It was Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, who mentioned Kennedy first, saying the late president was able to lower tax rates and increase growth.

Overall, Twitter said the vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky., generated more than 4 million tweets -- with 3.5 million coming during the 92 minutes of televised discussion.

Some other Twitter data:

Slightly more than one-quarter of all the tweets were about foreign policy, while 21% were about the economy and 16% about taxes.

Ryan's response to Biden's claim that he and Mitt Romney want to turn Medicare into a voucher program was the second-most-tweeted quip, generating 55,540 tweets per minute at its peak.

Twitter posted a graphic of the activity on its blog.