How Biden Boosted the Democratic Ticket

Later that same speech, Biden emphasized the Democrats' focus on "a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S."

Days later, NBC's Jay Leno made fun of Biden's mess-up in a Los Angeles appearance on "The Tonight Show."

"I knew I shouldn't have had lunch with Dan Quayle," Biden said. "I mean, I don't know what happened there."

"I've made many a gaffe in my life and I suspect I'll make a whole lot more," Biden said.

Biden's self-deprecating humor was also needed when Leno poked fun at another Biden trait: his close-talking, touchy-feely nature.

However, despite -- or perhaps because of -- Biden's verbosity, the Democratic senator was not accessible to his traveling press corps, which did not have a chance to ask him questions since a Sept. 7 flight to Kalispell, Mont., which included a 13-minute Biden answer to a question on Iraq, until an Oct. 31 press avail in Lima, Ohio.

Fortunately for local media outlets, the senator has conducted more than 200 interviews in his time as Obama's running mate, giving him the chance to connect to supporters.

Related

WATCH: McCain Concedes Presidential Race

For Dems, Does Majority Always Rule?

EXIT POLLS: Economy Drives Obama Victory

Even though at times the campaign might have wanted Biden to tone down certain comments, he has consistently displayed a penchant to go off script. Working a Maumee, Ohio, rope line Sept. 17, Biden said the Democratic ticket did not support clean coal, despite both his and Obama's statements to the contrary.

"We're not supporting clean coal," Biden said. "Guess what? China is building two every week, two dirty coal plants. And it's polluting the United States, it's causing people to die."

"No coal plants here in America!" Biden then said. "Build 'em, if they're gonna build 'em, over there and make 'em clean because they're killing you."

"Whether he is explaining Barack Obama's tax plan with tides of patriotism or guaranteeing that Obama's inexperience would generate an international crisis, it should tell you something that Joe Biden is only relevant when making mistakes," McCain-Palin spokesman Ben Porritt told ABC News. "Biden's often amusing gaffes are expected but not as concerning as his errors in judgment."

As he used Biden's gaffes in TV ads blasting Obama, McCain called Biden "the gift that keeps on giving."

As Election Day approached, it appeared that Biden had been "muzzled," as Porritt put it, delivering carefully scripted 20-minute speeches read closely from the teleprompter and staying on message far more than earlier in the campaign. Combined with not doing a press availability since Sept. 7 or fielding audience questions in a town-hall style format since Sept. 10, the lawmaker who was the most accessible and colorful member of either ticket at the start of his time on the campaign trail had become the least so by the end of it.

"After cutting off members of the media for asking tough questions, press reports now indicate that Barack Obama has muzzled his own running mate for offering insight into Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes," Porritt said in a statement after Biden's Oct. 29 rally in Jupiter, Fla. "Biden's speech today is further proof that his entire candidacy is nothing more than scripted bluster and unscripted blunders."

A Boost to the Ticket

But despite Biden's slip-ups, the Obama campaign believed the Senate Foreign Relations chairman was an asset for the party, bolstering Obama's foreign-policy credentials and bringing added experience to the ticket.

One month after the running mates were named in late August, a Sept. 29 ABCNews/Washington Post poll showed that Biden's selection had made 25 percent of people more likely to vote for Obama, with 13 percent of people less likely to do so -- a net positive of 12 percentage points.

On the other hand, people said Palin's presence as a running mate made 23 percent of them more likely to vote for McCain, but 32 percent of them less likely to support the GOP ticket -- a net negative of nine percentage points.

"The contrast with John McCain's vice presidential choice is dramatic," Wade said. "When battleground state newspapers endorse Barack Obama, they mention his wise choice of Joe Biden as a reason why. Palin? Not so much. Biden's done 200 interviews as of [Oct. 28] and after each debate he appeared on every network morning show to make the case for Obama. Palin? Not so much."