this thing. ryan also has the upper hand when it comes to popularity. the congressman with a 44% favorable rating compared to the vice president s 51% unfavorable score. both have done a walk through of the room today and joining me now if you have a guy in your ring, i guess it is chris matthews, host of msnbc s hard ball. i pause for the applause. mark murray, nbc senior poe lits call got you at least. when you sit next to a big gun you ve got to defer. your reaction to the president s debate performance is now legendary. they may put it in some kind of television hall of fame. you told it like you always feel. you have a new ad on msnbc. you say tonight it s not about looking presidential or vice presidential, it is about putting it on the line. well, what bothers me is that the democratic side in this case, the president and the vice president, they have not fought the big fight. there are real drastic differences between these two