1st Presidential Debate Live Commentary Thread

[Peeperkorn]

I told here first than anyone....Romney's landslide.

[Ty440]

I had to work overtime tonight and missed the debate. It looks like Romney won? Is there any place to watch the video?

Try C span or YouTube in about an hour or two.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Romney clearly won this one. Obama likely wanted to be with Michelle tonite as its their anniversary thus he was off.

[Fargobison]

Obama seemed like he thought he had the debate won before it even started while Romney clearly wanted to own it.

Romney was the clear winner tonight.

[Dr. Cynic]

I think Romney won the debate, but his smug personality pissed me off more than anything.

[muon2]

I had to work overtime tonight and missed the debate. It looks like Romney won? Is there any place to watch the video?

CNN has often rerun debates after a couple hours of analysis. That may be true tonight as well.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I had to work overtime tonight and missed the debate. It looks like Romney won? Is there any place to watch the video?

Try C span or YouTube in about an hour or two.

CNN will reair it at midnight ET

[LiberalJunkie]

67-25 on CNN that Romney won

[J. J.]

67-25 on CNN that Romney won

Beet me to it.  Bandit must have ask the Obama voters in KY that he knows.

[Fritz]

So, where were all the "zingers" that Romney practiced on?  I didn't see any.

[J. J.]

So, where were all the "zingers" that Romney practiced on?  I didn't see any.

There wasn't.  Obama tried, and the dial numbers on CNN went down.

CNN:  +35 said more likely to vote for Romney

+58 though he was a better leader.

46/45 Romney on likability. 

[Lincoln Republican]

More detailed results on the above

CNN flash post debate polls

Who are you most likely to vote for:
Romney                35%
Obama                 18%
Neither                 47%

Who would be the stronger leader?
Romney                 55%
Obama                  37%

Who is more likeable?
Romney                46%
Obama                 45%

[J. J.]

This performance was reminiscent of GHW Bush's 1992 debate.

Flash poll numbers are brutal.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

This performance was reminiscent of GHW Bush's 1992 debate.

Flash poll numbers are brutal.

John King and David Gergen just said to be fair, the sample of voters was a few points more Republican than their normal polls because more Republicans watched it. But yeah, seems like we could see about a 2 point Romney bounce.

[Lincoln Republican]

CNN

Best to handle the economy Romney 55 Obama 43

Best to handle health care Romney 52 Obama 47

Best to handle taxes Romney 53 Obama 44

Best to handle the deficit Romney 57 Obama 41

View on government Romney 54 Obama 44

[yourelection]

Following the debate and the commentaries afterwards by the "experts" on cnn, it is quite clear that Romney won this debate and won it quite clearly. The flash polls are clear. Even the democratic pundits give Romney the win.

I am not sure what affect this will have for Romney. He seems to have difficulties taking advantage of the wins he has had. Still it will throw a wrench in President Obama's campaign.

Romney will need to build off this success and avoid any further gaffs. Obama will need to work harder on the Presidents performance in the future debates.

My complete thoughts about the debate can be found at www.yourelection.net

[Beet]

I just read the transcript of the debate, and I can definitely see why people think Romney won, although a large amount of that seems to be that he had the last word on every topic. I don't want to turn that into an excuse, but it genuinely affects perception of the discussion because Obama often made good points in his last speaking segment that were then effectively rebutted by Romney. In the end, I blame Obama for not being aggressive enough then, in arguing with Lehrer, because he could have pointed out - as Romney did - that when the other person starts the segment, you should get to end it.

Romney is a good debater, but there are effective responses to pretty much everything he said- as long as those responses get out there.

[J. J.]

John King and David Gergen just said to be fair, the sample of voters was a few points more Republican than their normal polls because more Republicans watched it. But yeah, seems like we could see about a 2 point Romney bounce.

CBS shows very good numbers with Romney with an undecided group, 46 to 22.  It did not have a GOP skew.  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57525698/poll-uncommitted-voters-say-romney-wins-debate/

I will echo those people don't think this will be a large shift.

[Lief 🗽]

Romney told lie after lie and Obama didn't call him on it. But those lies were effective and he'll likely win the election now. It's disappointing, but that's the country we live in.

[ChrisFromNJ]

Why is Romney blatantly lying about his tax plan? His tax cut plan is pretty simply... he is cutting marginal income tax rates 20% across the board. That is close to a $5 trillion dollar tax cut.

[J. J.]

Why is Romney blatantly lying about his tax plan? His tax cut plan is pretty simply... he is cutting marginal income tax rates 20% across the board. That is close to a $5 trillion dollar tax cut.

Not if it is tied to eliminating deductions.

[ChrisFromNJ]

Why is Romney blatantly lying about his tax plan? His tax cut plan is pretty simply... he is cutting marginal income tax rates 20% across the board. That is close to a $5 trillion dollar tax cut.

Not if it is tied to eliminating deductions.

Could you specify the deductions that would make this revenue neutral? What deductions would make up the $4.8 trillion difference?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Obama did have an "it's all my fault" look on his face when Romney explained what changed in the past 4 fours for the worse.

[J. J.]

Why is Romney blatantly lying about his tax plan? His tax cut plan is pretty simply... he is cutting marginal income tax rates 20% across the board. That is close to a $5 trillion dollar tax cut.

Not if it is tied to eliminating deductions.

Could you specify the deductions that would make this revenue neutral? What deductions would make up the $4.8 trillion difference?

Perhaps a blanket limitation on all non capital investment deductions beyond a specific dollar amount, which Romney mentioned.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Honestly, I found it pretty dull. There was no really intense moment, and both candidates had decent but unimpressive performances. I think it's a draw overall: Romney managed to come across as serious but was way too aggressive sometimes. Obama looked calm and self-confident, but poorly constructed some of his sentences.