I believe that thinking along the lines of what you posted, did back the idea it would be good for Biden to do what he did. Nothing is worse than having your arse handed to you on the stage, so I’m sure it made sense to them.
Problem is, Biden turned a lot of people off by doing that. Obama isn’t gaining friends either.
In a sense, Biden transmitted the mindset that they can’t stand toe to toe and win. That’s an admission that they are losing, and they know it.
So not only does the guy concede the debate, he makes it clear they’ve essentially given up winning on the issues.
Toast.
O-B are the incumbents. It is their job to convince the voters that they cant trust Romney as POTUS and to get their base excited to vote. How many times have you seen freepers post that they just want a candidate to take the gloves off and attack Obama's character?
Obama played the passive role, Biden played the attack dog. I cant imagine a single voter deciding to vote for Romney because of Biden’s antics. In fact I don't expect this debate to change anything. O-R is the main event.