# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/81 "2012-10-04T01:28:55Z")
'I like you, Jim, but I’m going to fire you." Yeah, he did run Bain, didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/82 "2012-10-04T01:30:04Z")
Hate to say it, but Romney is appearing better so far. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/83 "2012-10-04T01:30:28Z")
I’m going to steal this concept from Fark, but watching this is a bit like watching the first three weeks of the NFL. Lehrer is getting run over by the pros. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/84 "2012-10-04T01:31:29Z")
Obama warming up now… ETA: Same for Romney… but a little defensive. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/85 "2012-10-04T01:32:44Z")
Romney’s upper lip is sweating bullets. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/86 "2012-10-04T01:33:02Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Hate to say it, but Romney is appearing better so far. Does he really appear better than Obama, or does he only appear better than the low expectations he’s not living down to? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/87 "2012-10-04T01:34:22Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > Does he really appear better than Obama, or does he only appear better than the low expectations he’s not living down to? He appears better. More confident and prepared. Trust me, it kills me to say it, but it’s true. I expect the president to rally. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/88 "2012-10-04T01:34:58Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > Does he really appear better than Obama, or does he only appear better than the low expectations he’s not living down to? Same thing, for political purposes. He’s doing much, much better than the (unfairly) low expectations – he is well prepared and knows what he came to say. ---
**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, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/89 "2012-10-04T01:35:26Z")
Romney doesn’t sound bad to me, but that’s the power of lowered expectations speaking. In reality, it’s easy to sound great when you’re ‘Candidate Etch-A-Sketch’ - reinventing yourself on the fly. By the way - did anyone else notice he essentially called his 5 boys committed liars earlier? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/90 "2012-10-04T01:35:40Z")
I agree that Romney is performing better than Obama, but it seems to be shifting. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/91 "2012-10-04T01:36:42Z")
I don’t understand why listening to them (both of them) irritates me so much, but I just turned it off. I can read the transcript faster than they can say it, and then I don’t have to hear their voices. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/92 "2012-10-04T01:37:19Z")
Anyone liveblogging this? Slow night at work on this side of the pond, but video access is disabled. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/93 "2012-10-04T01:37:21Z")
I’m surprised y’all think Romney is doing well. Obama totally has him reacting defensively. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Romney was the incumbent and Obama was the challenger. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/94 "2012-10-04T01:37:41Z")
When Romney pulls out the “You’ve had four years to do X” argument, I’d like to see Obama reminding everyone of the Republicans’ obstructionism. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/95 "2012-10-04T01:38:16Z")
Summary: A lot of numbers. Too much data. A lot of talk about taxes. Romney is pithier, more emotional. Obama is hesitating, now making his best points. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/96 "2012-10-04T01:39:17Z")
Romney continues to kick some serious butt. This is not good. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/97 "2012-10-04T01:40:53Z")
Romney: state government is brilliant, federal government is not. Uh, right. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/98 "2012-10-04T01:41:16Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > Anyone liveblogging this? Slow night at work on this side of the pond, but video access is disabled. YouTube is slow. HuffPo is working good. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/99 "2012-10-04T01:42:19Z")
Obama sounds ten times more calmer than Romney, so it is easier for me to follow what he saying. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602/100 "2012-10-04T01:42:27Z")
There’s a live blog here, with live fact-checking: [Presidential Debate Fact-Check and Updates - Live Coverage - Election 2012 - NYTimes.com](http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/debates/presidential/2012-10-03) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-presidential-debate-10-3-2012/636602.md?page=6)