This was not just my impression. The post-debate headlines for Biden were uniformly terrible. Already there are reports that he is not cooperating with his handlers during debate preparation, that he is " set in his ways," and that members of his staff are " freaking out," though a spokeswoman for the campaign has, naturally, denied this. But I hope for Biden's sake she's fibbing. It would be a gross dereliction of duty for anyone close to the former vice president not to be panicking after his first debate performance.