I remember his debate with Ryan his entire strategy was to laugh at everything Ryan said. He came off ridiculous but MSM went to work and by the end of the next day the perception became that Biden won.
You are exactly right. I remember thinking what a pompous ass he looked like with his incessant, dismissive laughter.
Ryan held up OK, but the MSM immediately published the prepared headlines: “Experts agree, Biden wins debate.”
Yeah, the perception I got is that he came off as crazy. I remember him laughing hysterically all the time. I personally thought Ryan won, but he stayed in it well enough that (maybe via media influence) people thought he won.
Now when Pence debated Kaine, the media couldn’t sugar coat that. Even CNN thought Pence won.