WASHINGTON (MCT) — The 90-minute showdown between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Paul Ryan may be most remembered for Biden’s grinning, laughing and seemingly mocking of his younger opponent. But the more lasting impact was reinforcing the fact that election is an unusually telling referendum on how people want America governed — and a call to arms for the bases of both parties.

Biden forcefully recited the Democratic mantra in ways that Democrats needed to hear after President Barack Obama let them down with an underwhelming performance in his first debate against Republican Mitt Romney. Biden spoke passionately about a government with extensive safety nets and a measured diplomatic approach to foreign policy.