The Top 8 Takeaways From The Vice Presidential Debate (Plus LOLs!)

While a winner isn't quite as obvious, this time around, one thing is for sure after tonight's impassioned vice presidential debate — VP Joe Biden and his opponent Paul Ryan are assured, informed speakers with incredible passion for their respective causes. If you missed the debate because you thought it'd be a snooze (we'll admit, we underestimated it ourselves!), here are the most memorable quotes (and most hilarious highlights) from the evening:

1. Biden, when referring to Ryan's stance on Iran, described it as "a bunch of stuff." When Martha Raddatz asked what he meant, Ryan jumped in with "It's Irish." It was a gracious way to acknowledge a shared heritage and created a bond, albeit a tenuous one, between two men who were preparing to do battle.

2. Both candidates gave incredibly thoughtful, impassioned-but-not-pushy responses when questioned about how their shared Catholic faith informs their opinions about abortion. As expected, Ryan took a strong pro-life stance and Biden was pro-choice and was the one to mention that it was a woman's decision (we appreciate being involved in decisions about our own reproductive health, for the record).

3. The first "oh, snap" moment: Biden calls out Ryan for asking for stimulus money while simultaneously criticizing the stimulus plan. Ryan passes it off by saying the request was on behalf of his constituents, but here at home, we felt a little flushed on his behalf.

4. "Malarkey" was Biden's favorite word in the first half of the debate, with the VP throwing it out at least twice. We like to think that someone in the audience held up a sign that said "Stop saying malarkey," because Biden put a stop to it pretty quickly.

5. The tone of the debate was a sharp contrast to last week's presidential debate. When Ryan had had enough of being interrupted, he said, "Mr. Vice President, I know you’re under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we didn’t keep interrupting each other.” It was his first zing of the night.

6. His second zing? “I think the Vice President very well knows that sometimes, the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.” Touché.

7. And the newest way to talk about people you absolutely loathe? Refer to them as "my friend." The burn gets worse the more times you repeat the phrase.

8. In a flashback to the '88 VP debate, during which Lloyd Bentsen told Dan Quayle he was "no Jack Kennedy," Biden whipped out a "Oh, so now you're Jack Kennedy?" retort to Ryan that nipped any further past-president name-dropping in the bud.