2012 Decoded

The conventional wisdom that has long dictated vice presidential politicking can be boiled down to a pair of hard and fast rules. Number One: do no harm. Number Two: never allow the bottom of the ticket to overshadow the top of the ticket.

Apparently Joe Biden and Paul Ryan never got the memo.

Here we are, fewer than three months removed from Election Day, and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have entered full-fledged campaign mode, jetting breathlessly between battleground states to raise money, energize supporters and make their case to undecided voters. Yet for much of the past week, their efforts have been largely eclipsed by their running mates, whose activities have, for better or worse, commanded considerably more attention from the press.