Live stream: Watch Ryan, Biden in vice presidential debate

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The Biden and Ryan families join the debaters onstage after the vice presidential showdown. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Vice President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Paul D. Ryan trade jabs at their debate as Martha Raddatz moderates. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Republican vice presidential candidate Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin makes a point at the debate. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul D. Ryan shake hands before the debate. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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A sign welcomes visitors to the vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

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A storefront window in downtown Danville, Ky., promotes the vice presidential debate. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Students walk past a political mural near Centre College in downtown Danville, Ky. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Sam Adams of Lexington stages a one-man demonstration against the Democratic presidential ticket in Danville, Ky., site of the vice presidential debate. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Obama campaign items are sold in Danville, Ky., before the vice presidential debate. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images)

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Abraham Lincoln impersonator Larry Elliott of Louisville poses with cutouts of the presidential candidates in Danville, Ky., site of the vice presidential debate. (Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

By Morgan Little

Oct. 11, 2012 6:02 PM PT

Republican candidate Paul Ryan will face off against Vice President Joe Biden Thursday night at 6 p.m. PDT in the first and only vice presidential debate, held in Danville, Ky.

Ryan, 42, and Biden, 69, will meet after a week of anticipation, in a duel moderated by Martha Raddatz of ABC News.

Biden, who has extensive debating experience, having served in the Senate for years before running for president and then becoming vice president, was expected to deliver a “robust debate,” the Obama campaign predicted.

“The vice president will speak directly to the American people about the progress we’ve made over the past four years and a concrete Obama-Biden plan to continue creating an economy that works for the middle class,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said.

PHOTOS: Memorable presidential debate moments

Ryan, on the other hand, preparing for his first nationally broadcast debate, admitted that “it’s a nervous situation because Joe Biden is one of the most experienced debaters we have in modern politics.” What he lacks in experience, Ryan believes he’ll make up once the arguments begin, saying that President Obama’s record serves as a glaring weakness for Biden.

Neither candidate will have an easy path to victory in the debate, with Biden under intense scrutiny given his proclivity for gaffes and Obama’s subpar performance in his first debate. As for Ryan, he faces high expectations from his own party, and intense skepticism from his many Democratic critics.

Watch the debate live through the feed above, courtesy of YouTube, Yahoo and ABC News, or follow Politics Now’s ongoing updates of the proceedings.

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morgan.little@latimes.com
Twitter: @mlittledc