If this were a boxing match, I think Romney wins by a split decision. Nobody really landed any heavy punches, but Romney seemed to outpoint Obama on my card.
I see this as a downer for the Dems, as they expected Obama to win big, and that just didn’t happen. Likewise, I think the GOP will be somewhat pleased that Romney showed he can go toe to toe with Obama.
Two more debates. If I have to watch another debate like this I’m going to kill myself. That was the most pointless exercise I’ve witnessed in a long, long time.
Carville nailed it: “Obama looked like he didn’t want to be there”…
Sticking with my first thought:
I think the latter is particularly going to haunt him once the Obama campaign decides what to do with it.
Second time today, I just endorse Richard Parker’s post in its entirety instead of typing my own.
Actually, one thought of my own: this was one of the best presidential debates in terms of actual substantive commentary I have seen in recent years.
CNN flash polls: Romney highlites from undecided voters: 62% said better on facts, 56% better vision of future, 64% stronger leader
obama highlites from undecided voters: 54% cares about me, 54% would make better decisions.
http://politicslive.cnn.com/Event/First_Presidential_Debate_5
Well that’s the fantastic version.
Actually, on CNN there was a timer that showed Obama spoke 4+ minutes longer than Romney did over the course of the debate.
Apparently, Andrew Sullivan said that Obama may have lost the election tonight.
I didn’t watch. Hyperbole?
If I’m reading reactions right, this will help Mitt Romney. But how much? Enough?
I figure he got a little too confident, thinking that Romney would be his usual goofball self, and slacked off on the debate prep.
Awful, awful debate. Not a thing discussed that seemed to concern anyone other than middle-aged white guys with investment income. Just about everything Romney said seemed at odds with his public positions, and Obama was alnmost weirdly passive.
Gaaahhh.
I think Obama did fine, not great, but fine. He’s the president, he shouldn’t be jumping up and down and getting all fired up. Romney is allowed to do that as the challenger and it looks authoritive and “presidential” but can’t say he delivered anything exciting. I know the Republicans will get excited, and they should, but not sure it does much to move Ohio or PA to the Romney camp.
And if he doesn’t win Ohio or PA he doesn’t win.
Yes, hyperbole. I think you’ll hear a lot of people asking who the fuck the Mitt Romney who showed up tonight was, though; didn’t sound a bit like the one who’s been running for POTUS for 8-odd years.
It’s certainly a much better campaign reboot than the other attempts.
This was a bad performance by Obama, the worst I’ve ever seen by him. He got walked on, and he let Romney get away with saying whatever he wanted with barely a protest. It’s fair to note though, that it’s difficult to debate a guy when you prepare to debate a different guy. The Romney on-stage tonight wasn’t the guy who has been campaigning these past months.
A repost of the live fact-checking, in case anyone needs it:
No, that’s an absurd statement. Romney definitely came out ahead, but he’s not going to overtake Obama in the polls. He’ll narrow the gap for sure, though.
Senator Rob Portman for Romney and Stephanie Cutter for Obama in the spin room on CNN.
Portman said Romney was prepared, spoke to undecided voters in Ohio. Cutter said Romney was short on specifics.
I think Obama can get some good ad materials out of this even so. Romney ran his mouth, flatly denied things he’s already on tape having said, and some nice Daily Show-style editing could work nicely.
Seems to me that he did exactly as well as he did in the debates with Clinton and McCain. He’s just not a good debater. The best that can be said about him is that he doesn’t make mistakes and he doesn’t like to mix it up.
He’s not going to get any better in the next two debates. He’s hoping Romney will beat himself, which is entirely possible.
Andrew Sullivan is always spouting hyperbole. He means well, but geez, he sees no shades of gray in anything. And he flips and flops depending on the last thing he’s heard.
The only thing that changed because of this debate, assuming Romney is lucky, is that he brought the race back to where it was before the conventions.
This will make for a very good bump for Romney. IMO the President was too much into a “don’t make a mistake” mode and THAT is a mistake. People LIKE the assertive guy who gets the last word in.
Substancewise we got nothing we did not already have “He’ll cut $700billion from Medicare” “Will not” “Will, too”. Like someone else said, “47%” was not mentioned.
In the end the Prez was the only one who could have zinged Mitt with a “I’m sure the governor will now step in and demand to have the last word regardless of the moderator…” but he himself knew his total time was greater. As to doormat moderation, as I said before the format rules prevent him from acting as an enforcing ref, you’d never get a debate if you insisted on the power to turn off the candidate’s mic.