Washington: On the eve of the crucial Vice Presidential debate, a new poll said that US Vice President Joe Biden is seen more unfavourable than his Republican rival Congressman Paul Ryan.
More voters view Joe Biden unfavourably than favourably, while opinions about Paul Ryan are more evenly divided, the Pew Research said releasing the results of its latest opinion poll according to which the image of Biden is far less positive than it was before his 2008 debate with Sarah Palin.
Ryan is viewed less favourably than Palin was just prior to the last Vice-Presidential debate, said the poll results, according to which 39 per cent of voters view Biden favourably, while 51 per cent had unfavourable impression of the vice president.
"Just more than four-in-ten (44 per cent) view Ryan favourably, while about as many (40 per cent) have an unfavourable view," it said.
According to another separate survey conducted by Pew, voters are divided over who will do better in Thursday`s Vice Presidential debate. Four-in-ten (40 per cent) say Ryan will do a better job while 34 per cent expect Biden to do better, it said.
The poll results came as both Biden and Ryan were making last minute preparations for the crucial debate. Democrats hopes that with his experience and political acumen, Biden would help in regaining the lead Barack Obama, had over Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger, before the October 3 Presidential debate in Denver.
On the other hand, Republicans hope that Ryan would continue with the impressive performance of Romney and further solidify their lead over the Obama campaign.
Meanwhile, in an interview to CNN Ryan said he is prepared for the debate but praised the skills of his rival Biden, adding that he is excited about it.
"Joe Biden has been doing this (debate) for a long time. He ran for president twice. He`s a sitting vice president. He`s been the stage many times before. So that`s new for me. I`m doing my homework and studying the issues. I know how he`ll come and attack us. The problem he has is he has Barack Obama`s record he has to run on," he told the CNN in an interview.
"I`m not intimidated. I`m actually excited about it," Ryan told the news channel.
PTI
