It’s no contest—Biden nailed it. But Obama still needs to seal the deal. Robert Shrum on the three things that will determine the outcome of the presidential race—and why they all point toward a Democratic victory.

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He dominated the debate.  He hammered Ryan-Romney on vote-driving issues.  He exposed the Ryan budget as a deception designed to trick people into voting against themselves—mathematically impossible; a socially and even morally unacceptable charter to enrich the wealthy and rob the middle class, the needy, students who have to pay for college, and seniors who have to pay for prescription drugs and nursing home care.  And in Thursday’s debate, he was pre-eminently Joe: engaged, accessible, the guy from Scranton speaking the common language of life—not the arcane vocabulary of the legislative thicket.  Again and again, he looked into the camera and talked straight to the American people.