WASHINGTON – Democrats who waited in vain last week for President Barack Obama to hit Mitt Romney on his 47 percent remark didn’t have to wait long for Vice President Joe Biden to pounce Thursday night in the one and only vice presidential debate.

At first opportunity in his face-off against rival Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, Biden spouted off a long and rehearsed attack on the GOP ticket, casting them as hostile to the middle class and dismissive of nearly half of America.

Asked about the administration’s economy policy, Biden quickly pivoted to Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout.