# The first presidential debate: 10/3/2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602 "2012-10-03T17:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/301 "2012-10-04T03:55:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Leher wasn’t a moderator, he was a _pinata_. But, to be strictly fair, he had no power beyond the gentlemen’s agreement of the participants. What was he gonna do, cut their mike? > > What’s your guys count on screaming “Cite?!!” at the TV? Mine’s 12. I said “bullshit” a lot more than “cite” ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/302 "2012-10-04T03:55:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’ve never heard a story about Romney helping a “random person”. I did hear a rather specious story about him helping track down a co-worker’s (co-owner’s?) daughter after she disappeared and OD’ed. Credit where credit is due - he also [rescued a man left at sea.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/28/bill-marriott-mitt-romney_n_1922825.html) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/303 "2012-10-04T03:58:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …There just aren’t enough poor people. After eight years of Bush, there’s a fuck of a lot more of them. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/304 "2012-10-04T04:00:26Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Even better example. The President has never called the family of Brian Terry. He did however, take the time to call Sandra Fluke. This is no surprise; I don’t believe for one second that Barack Obama actually, truly cares about other people in any substantial way, at least not to any degree more than your average guy walking down the street, but the difference is that Mitt Romney actively _despises_ 99.9% of the people he comes in random contact with—He despises them for (unlike him) not being born to vast wealth and political power, for not falling to their knees and kissing his ring when they meet him, for not sharing his religious delusions, for not acknowledging his vast intellectual superiority. Since he was a child, Mitt Romney has been a spoiled, sheltered, smirking, insulated Golden Boy, who only cares about and relates to the tiny handful of others around him who share his vast economic wealth and social status. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/305 "2012-10-04T04:00:33Z")
Another way to ask the question I just asked: perceptions matter in politics, obviously. Both Obama and Romney’s performances arguably changed perceptions. Is that change permanent (or as permanent as it can get in politics)? And more importantly, would such a change have a significant impact on a race that’s generally close (although, of course, less close state-by-state, especially in some very important ones)? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/306 "2012-10-04T04:01:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’ve never heard a story about Romney helping a “random person”. I did hear a rather specious story about him helping track down a co-worker’s (co-owner’s?) daughter after she disappeared and OD’ed. > > That’s a good point. The CNN response tracker pretty much flatlined during Romney’s close, though it was higher during most of the actual debate. The retired firefighter and his wife that spoke at the RNC about how Romney helped their dying son? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/307 "2012-10-04T04:02:11Z")
We’re going to tackle the deficit by moving everything to the states. You mean, like, for instance, Mississippi? Where are they going to get the money that the Feds can’t raise? Bake sales? Casinos? Porn? You give Texas the block grant to help the poor, they’ll build more prisons. Housing, of a sort. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/308 "2012-10-04T04:03:12Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think Romney did a great job tonight. **Romney knew his facts inside and out and spoke eloquently and without hesitation.** Obama didn’t speak well and seemed somehow disinterested or annoyed. Of course if I had to compete to keep my job I would be annoyed too. Bolding is mine. I’d say it’s easy to know your “facts” inside and out when you’re making them up as you go. Obama was probably annoyed because none of the Mitt Romneys he’d prepared to debate showed up tonight. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/309 "2012-10-04T04:20:48Z")
I wonder if Turkey and Syria exchanging artillery fire today had anything to do with Obama being cranky. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/310 "2012-10-04T04:21:32Z")
_sigh_ I’m too quixotic for politics, these debates always frustrate me. Obama has this election, though. ---
**Author:** ![vaultermn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/4bbf92/32.png) [@vaultermn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vaultermn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/311 "2012-10-04T04:23:29Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > Obama was probably annoyed because none of the Mitt Romneys he’d prepared to debate showed up tonight. That’s the danger when you start to believe in your own strawmans. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/312 "2012-10-04T04:26:38Z")
I think CNN is being irresponsible by doing a poll of just 430 people: > [@](#): > > A CNN/ORC International poll of 430 people who watched the debate showed 67% thought Romney won, compared to 25% for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/313 "2012-10-04T04:30:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > My wife and I had almost exactly the same conversation. So did we, bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/314 "2012-10-04T04:32:31Z")
Romney can make jobs happen. There aren’t enough now because Obama doesn’t know how to make them happen, but he does. So, that’s taken care of. And all that stuff I’ve been reading about what he intends to do as President, turns out that’s all lies. Given these stunning revelations, I may have to rethink my position. Glad I wasn’t riding a donkey. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/315 "2012-10-04T04:39:46Z")
> [@vaultermn](#): > > That’s the danger when you start to believe in your own strawmans. What a bizarre statement. What do you think the Romney team meant by comparing his campaign to an Etch A Sketch? Romney is a strawman caricature, by his own design. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/316 "2012-10-04T05:01:42Z")
I predicted Obama’s calm, cool demeanor would win out over an easily riled Mitt Romney. I was wrong. Obama was clearly unprepared for that. What’s more is that the next debate is between the VPs. I envision Ryan taking Biden behind the woodshed for a sound beating, which, coupled with Romney’s performance tonight, could result in a significant bump for the republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/317 "2012-10-04T05:04:42Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > I think CNN is being irresponsible by doing a poll of just 430 people: 430 people gives you a confidence interval/margin of error of 4.73 at 95%. So that’s not really that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/318 "2012-10-04T05:06:10Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I predicted Obama’s calm, cool demeanor would win out over an easily riled Mitt Romney. I was wrong. Obama was clearly unprepared for that. > > What’s more is that the next debate is between the VPs. I envision Ryan taking Biden behind the woodshed for a sound beating, which, coupled with Romney’s performance tonight, could result in a significant bump for the republicans. I had a similar opinion to you on the VP debate - my father objects and says Ryan will get spanked by Biden with experience. Ryan doesn’t know how to react outside his echo chamber. I could see the possibilities that what he says might be true, and if so I am looking forward to watching it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/319 "2012-10-04T05:06:17Z")
Obama supporters wish he had done better. Doesn’t mean they like Romney any more today than yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/320 "2012-10-04T05:08:59Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Obama supporters wish he had done better. Doesn’t mean they like Romney any more today than yesterday. I’m one Obama supporter who likes Mitt Romney 1000% more than I did yesterday, based on what I saw in the debate. Still won’t vote for him of course, but now if the president loses I won’t be in utter shock or dismay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602.md?page=17)