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Subscribe to RSSRomney helped himself last night, while Obama didn’t… It was a substantive and civil debate (especially compared with those Brown-vs.-Warren slugfests)… How Obama could win the post-debate -- by seizing on several of the openings Romney gave him last night… NBC’s John Yang interviews undecided Ohio voters who watched the debate… Romney unveils new TV ad… And Obama stumps in Denver, CO and Madison, WI, while Romney hits Fisherville, VA.
In a fiercely substantive first debate, Mitt Romney performed as if his campaign may have depended on it while a surprisingly subdued President Obama seemed to allow his challenger to dictate the terms of the discussion. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
*** Romney helps himself: Eight years ago, a politician from Massachusetts was able to use his first debate against a sitting president to make a strong impression in a race he was trailing. And history repeated itself last night. If Mitt Romney's goal of the first debate was to get at least a second look from voters, then he succeeded -- big time. He was energetic, concise, and even funny. He also came across as knowledgeable, especially to those who might have been tuning in for the first time. The insta-polls showed that Romney won the debate decisively, and it's hard to disagree. Bottom line: Romney helped himself, and that has to hearten his campaign, his donors, and the entire Republican Party running down the ticket. As we saw in January (after he lost the South Carolina primary) and in February (as Rick Santorum threatened him in Michigan), Romney delivers in a debate when he needs a good performance. Politico summed up things pretty well for what Romney accomplished last night: “At a minimum, Romney’s performance has chased away the aroma of terminal illness that was starting to emanate from his campaign and the increasingly restive factions in and around his operation... Whether he gets more than this minimum payoff is far from certain, given the deficit he was facing in both national polls and, more troublingly, several must-win swing states.”
Slideshow: On the campaign trail
*** And Obama doesn’t : By comparison, President Obama -- like George W. Bush before him back in 2004 (and even Ronald Reagan in ‘84 and George H.W. Bush in ’92) -- wasn't on his game and seemed a bit annoyed at sharing the same stage with his challenger. If Romney was energetic and concise, then Obama was listless and rambling. This was more the Obama who debated in Orangeburg, SC in April 2007 than the Obama who bested John McCain in the general-election debates of 2008. And now the pressure is on Vice President Biden to do what Dick Cheney did against John Edwards in’04: come back with a decisive win. Indeed, what the Obama campaign faces is akin to a baseball team who loses the first playoff game with its ace, and now needs its somewhat inconsistent No. 2 pitcher to step up. No doubt, Team Obama wishes they weren’t putting this all on Biden to deliver, but they only have the principal himself to blame.
Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2012.
*** A substantive and civil debate: Yet if the debate will be remembered for anything -- especially if the poll numbers don’t move much -- it will be for its substance. Fact-checking aside (and will get into that below), last night’s showdown was the most policy-oriented debate we’ve seen in the television era. And as our colleague Vaughn Ververs points out, it was also striking for its civility. No doubt the candidates disagreed on a whole host of issues, but they did so in a civil way, and that was pretty refreshing in this hyper-partisan atmosphere. (For a comparison, just see the recent Scott Brown-vs.-Elizabeth Warren debates.). And, by the way, no one needed to come across civil and likeable more than Romney.
*** Who wins the post-debate? If Romney won the instant reactions from last night’s debate, it is more than possible that the Obama camp can win the next 24 hours. Why? Because Romney said several things that could make life difficult for him today or in the next debate. First, Romney declared, “I will not reduce the taxes paid by high-income Americans.” But in addition to supporting the extension of the Bush tax cuts, which are skewed heavily to the wealthy, the non-partisan Tax Policy Center says that Romney’s tax plan would give the Top 0.1% an average tax cut of more than $246,000. Next, he stated that “there will be no tax cut that adds to the deficit.” While he has said his plan will be paid for, he’s yet to lay out any SPECIFICS on how he’ll pay for it. Romney also said, “I'm not going to cut education funding. I don't have any plan to cut education funding.” But the Ryan budget plan, which Romney has said he’d sign into law, leads to long-term spending reductions in education. And Romney also didn’t disagree with the description that his Medicare plan would consist of “vouchers” for future retirees. Winning a “debate” is always a two-part deal -- the night itself, and then the aftermath. This is now an opportunity for Team Obama and a challenge for Team Romney.
*** Watching the debate in Ohio: NBC’s John Yang watched the debate with six undecided voters in Ohio. As Yang writes, “Most of them—like most voters—have not been closely following the campaign, and this was their first close look at Romney, other than from the TV ads blanketing the airwaves. In this introduction, he favorably impressed at least two of our voters who backed Obama in 2008. These two said Romney came across as better than the out-of-touch millionaire they’d heard about.” More Yang: “Despite the flurry of statistics in the debate, all of our voters still said they wanted to hear more specifics. One ’08 McCain voter said he heard more specifics from Obama and is still waiting to hear some from Romney. Two of our voters—both 2008 Obama voters—said the President came across as ‘arrogant’—though one voter said that was a good thing because she wants that in a leader.”
*** Romney’s new TV and upcoming foreign-policy speech: The day after the debate, Romney has a new TV ad proclaiming that he’ll create 12 million new jobs (however, that 12 million figure is already the estimate for what’s supposed to happen in the next four years, no matter who’s in the White House). NBC also has confirmed thatRomney will deliver a foreign-policy speech in Virginia on Monday.
*** On the trail: Obama holds a campaign rally in Denver, CO at 12:20 pm ET, and then heads to Madison, WI at 4:20 pm ET… Romney and Ryan campaign in Fisherville, VA at 6:45 pm ET… Biden hits Council Bluffs, IA… And the DNC has a bus tour through Ohio, which has begun its early voting.
Countdown to VP debate: 7 days
Countdown to 2nd presidential debate: 12 days
Countdown to 3rd presidential debate: 18 days
Countdown to Election Day: 33 days
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-NEWS FLASH-
"The Obama campaign admits today that it may have been a mistake to use Joe Biden as Obama's debate coach"
They didn't use Biden as the coach.
Did Obama even have a debate coach? Wouldn't it have run into his campaigning and socializing schedule too much?
It's obvious that Obama is tired, worn out, can only repeat the same talking points he's been using the past four years, and has nothing new to offer.
When questioned by Romney, he had no answers, exposing his gross lack of understanding the issues.
At times, Obama's rambling responses didn't even come close to the question that was asked.
A sorry excuse for a President.
The podium may have well been empty like the chair Clint Eastwood was speaking to. Same results.
More proof of the lie that the media is "Liberal". The supposedly most "Liberal" news outlet has Chuck Todd shilling for the Republicans by practically shouting about what a substantive debate this was. Substance? Really Chuck? What substance?
Is it substance because Romney says, "my plan, my plan, my plan" but doesn't actually say what's in the plan?
Is it substance when Romney denies that he wants to cut taxes when he has run on nothing but cutting taxes? Is that substance Chuck?
C'mon Chuck, where's this substance you started screaming about last night? Everyone else on NBC started by saying that Romney showed great style but no substance, but when they went to the spin room with Chuck Todd, he started bouncing up and down saying, "this was the most substantive debate ever"! And when they cut back to the anchor desk suddenly they all started talking about Romney's "substance".
The corporate media decides who won the debate and Chuck Todd is trying so hard to shape the media's spin. The winner last night was Romney. the loser was Chuck Todd. I hope for his sake that Romney gives him that coveted press liason job he's trying to get.
Not true. It's just that the result of last night's debate was so obvious they really couldn't spin it any other way.
Romney care seems better than Obamacare but then who can tell the truth ? They both suck !
Poor Chris Matthews.
I wonder if his leg is still tingling after Obama's pathetic (non-teleprompter/no cherry-picked questions) performance?
That "tingle" down Chris Matthews leg was him p*ssing his pants last night at Romney's total dismantling of the President.
I don't think Obama was "off his game". I think there was never any "game" there in the first place.
The fawning press have NEVER pushed him for the hard answers - he gets a pass on every screwup, every poor economic indicator, every lie. The interview a few weeks back with Univision was the first tough interview he has EVER had, and look how rattled that got him.
He is in over his head. After last night it is evident he doesn't understand economics at all.
And when we see the details of what REALLY happened in Benghazi (the additional security requested by the Libyan ambassador denied by Obama's administration) it will cement the fact that he has NO IDEA what to do about foreign policy either, now that his "We will extend our hand if you will unclench your fist" strategy has failed.
Shame on anyone who still believes this second rate community organizer is competent enough for the office he holds.
WOW... "its all Lies...everything is lies....." Basically you all suck...I know it, you know... and now the world knows it! See it's easy to set back and say "its all lies....." However it's your job to prove it is all Lies! You can only take a man for what he says at face value, you don't have to agree with it, but you can not dismiss it as LIES unless you have solid proof! See Mittens don't have to prove that B.O and his policy and all his B.S is now, and always has been a FAILURE.... He don't have to prove that.... the facts of reality do a good job of proving that for him. Here are some facts for you.... 23 million americans unemployed, 47 million americans now accepting food stamps, 43 straight months of 8%+ un employment rate...economy not speeding up, but slowing down or at best stagnant, 90 Billion in failed green energy companys that are now bankrupt and out of business...(mostly owned by B.O liberal donators to the cause...)And all of this almost 4 years after your man took the oath of office. HE HAS FAILED! It's plain as the nose on your face...just accept it and move on! You can hear what the man has to say and you can either ponder it and find out the facts... or you can sit back with a pout lip and cross your arms and cry foul... "its all Lies"... and this morning it is plain to see what avenue you liberals have taken... NUFF SAID... relish in the last bit of your boys time in the office... it will end quicker than you want to believe!
I don't think Obama was "off his game". I think there was never any "game" there in the first place.
The fawning press have NEVER pushed him for the hard answers - he gets a pass on every screwup, every poor economic indicator, every lie. The interview a few weeks back with Univision was the first tough interview he has EVER had, and look how rattled that got him.
He is in over his head. After last night it is evident he doesn't understand economics at all.
And when we see the details of what REALLY happened in Benghazi (the additional security requested by the Libyan ambassador denied by Obama's administration) it will cement the fact that he has NO IDEA what to do about foreign policy either, now that his "We will extend our hand if you will unclench your fist" strategy has failed.
Shame on anyone who still believes this second rate community organizer is competent enough for the office he holds.
You bet Romney came to play. Hell he hit it out of the park. Nobama had no idea where he was and what he was doing. Without a teleprompter and someone to write his speech, he's nothing. And you libs/dems want this guy to run this great country for four more years. Not a ghost chance in hell! I'm sure Michelle was all over her husband last night for the pathetic presentation he did. No wonder countries in the world have no more respect for us. But that change is coming...
Absolutely Larry, let's do all we can to get Mitt elected.
around the 12:34 mark Romney wants to fire his accountant for not finding him a tax break for shipping jobs overseas and no one even calls him out on it
Romney did NOT dominate this debate. Romney came across as a smug smartass in my opinion, but ya know what, noone watches these things and Obama will get Ohio and the other states he needs and will win by over 100 electoral votes.
P.S. PBS isnt going anywhere by the way
You keep saying that to yourself...right up until Romney's inauguration.
Obama looked like a petulant child, Romney handed his ass to him.
Keep telling yourself that Steven, you just might start believing it. Romney is finished. Romney thinks windows in airplanes should roll down, what a moron. The guy is a dunce.
The Repubs are jubilant today....Romney "wins" the first debate!!! They are so desparate for some good news that they will take a "win" even though it amounted to nothing more than the same lies and inaccuracies that Mitt has been spouting for months....and that Americans aren't buying.
Mitt's performance was better than President Obamas....but to say Mitt "won" is over-reaching.
Too bad for Repubs that Americans know a liar when they see one....and they see Mitt!
Of course to an Obama fan saying Mitt won is overreaching. I'll bet there isn't a damn thing he could have done last night to change your mind. Obama could have stood up an announced he thinks his own presidency a failure and you still would support him wouldn't you?
johnny: Yes I support President Obama and believe he has done a good job thus far....not a great job, but a good one considering the obstruction from the right.
And given the alternative.....President Obama definitely has my vote.
Dragon,
He once had a super majority and failed to accomplish any real good deeds for this country so let's not keep blaming obstruction from the other side it is getting old and lame. At some point he needs to be held accountable for his handling of things.
Obama, the trap door spider..
Romney, the unsuspecting prey...
More people tuned into the debate last than has been previously tuned in to the campaigns. That's the way it goes in national elections, people don't really start paying close attention till after labor day.
What you saw last night was that trap being set, it'll be sprung in the next two debates. Just a quick fact check shows Obama was accurate in his statements while Romney was all over the place. Now Romney owns those comments, made in front of people who are paying attention. Obama will use those against Romney, who will have no recourse, well maybe stuttering, but that sure won't help.
Go ahead and think that Obama was out of it, confused, unprepared. Then go back and watch what he did to Hillary. Romney's next.
Then why has Obama been caught in more lies buy the fact checkers?
Just because you can't bear it that your idol was beaten in the debate, does not mean that Romney automatically lied - but if it helps you to live with yourself...
So you are admitting that Romney lied.
You need to check more than Hannity's website.
I haven't found one yet that didn't give Obama higher marks on truthfulness.
Obama was lost without his teleprompter. Take the script away from the actor and he forgets his lines. Cut the strings from the puppet and he falls to the floor.
Thats how a college grad gets schooled by an experienced, articulate and successful business man.
Now we know why Obama's College Transcripts are sealed. He obviously failed economics. Romney had to tutor him.
When you spew lies and inaccuracies for months, it is easy to continue spewing instead of giving voters the facts and specifics.
The only way President Obama was "schooled" was Mitt will continue his lies and President Obama needs to call him out on them.
BTW Americans don't believe Mitt's lies...and don't trust him.
Dragon..................want some cheese with that whine.
I did not see the debate last night but NBC was sure upset with their chosen one's performance in the debate. It was so bad that Chris Mathews was about to cry telling about it. I sure wish someone could have given Chris some cheese to go along with this whine. And it is to funny to read these liberal posts about that lying Romney. Like Obama and the democrats have never told a lie, as in their biggest lie that they are all for the common person. They will borrow their way to stay in power.
As the political blog Winning Progressive says on their Twitter page, if you are an Obama/Democrat supporter, don't fall for the myth that he "lost". Instead, fight for him as hard as he fights for us every day.
twitter.com/WinProgressive
Let stop kidding ourselves and face the fact the Mitt Romney controlled that debate and came out swinging and never stopped. This is the first debate....two more yet to come and no one is going to remember this debate before going to the polls they will remember the last one.
So let's not be on the defensive and admit the fact Romney scored one in the first round.....you out there that are crowing...watch you don't lose you voice.
Do you honestly think that Obama will do any better on the foreign policy debate? After what happened in Benghazi?
I was nicely surprised by the big BS Fest that Rmoney Inc. did not sound like a complete moron like usual , good going GOP.
"47% of the U.S. are parasites" .... Rmoney Inc.
"I'll do whatever the 1% tell me to do" .... Slick Barry of the American Empire
The bar was set so low for Romney that all he had to do was lie and act aggressive.
my video link wont post. Ok 12:34 on this link
Governor Romney had the distinct advantages of pointing out his successes in Massachusetts re: health care reform and education, while also being able to state, without a doubt, that 4 years of the Obama presidency have NOT helped America turn the corner to a healthier economy. He also aptly pointed out the significant increase in the number of Americans dependent upon food stamps, which is a real red flag when considering whether or not Americans are better off now than they were 4 years ago.
I voted for Obama in 2008, but he has NOT lived up to his promises of bringing unity and hope. He has been one of the most partisan and divisive presidents of my lifetime, and has given me (and countless other Americans) NO reasons to vote for him again.
Romney presented himself well in this debate and, at his worst, he couldn't make a bigger mess of this country than it is already in. He has my vote this November.
What was so frustrating to me was Romney told MANY bold face lies that were opposite of things he said even a week ago and the President didnt call him out.
But if you recall the Last Presidential Debates, this isnt his style.
And in a way, I understand. President Obama has a tight rope to walk. He can't come off as the "angry black man" without alienating some of his base and independents.
But frankly, I would have loved to see him really tear in Romney..
I felt Romney did exactly what he always does, stylisticly and passionately LIE.
If these lies are so apparent, why wasn't Obama able to successfully counter them? He was outmatched.
Independent - So you would have loved to see Obama really tear in Romney? I would have loved to see Obama turn the economy around. I guess neither one of us got our wish.
Did anyone else feel like Romney looked so good because he flat out lied about his "5 trillion" tax cut plan, which frustrated Obama?
I feel like Romney/Ryan are trying to get a job with only half of their resume filled out. Except the job is for the White House and the resume is specifics on the economy/deficit reduction.
O'Dubs===Between Obama and Ryan they have more experience than Obama will ever have but you don't see that. Obama is a school teacher and Romney a sugcessful business man, that did really well in life. This was the first time we got to see these two men together, Obama looked like a school teacher and Romney looked like successful business man. I think I'll go with the business man because running this country is like running a business. We need help with our money problems and Obama doesn't know how to do that. Obama has nad close top 4 year of trying and he failed.
Romney/Ryan 2012
excuse me - what has Obuma gotten done ??... nothing but spend spend spend and still a @!$%#ty economy -- he's simply trying to buy votes with government handouts
It is pretty clear Romney “Bitch Slapped” the President throughout the entire debate. For those of you who refuse to see the facts and continue to make claims that Romney was lying you should wake up. As Romney said “just because you keep repeating YOUR lies doesn’t make it is true”. For those who are stating Obama won this debate you should re-evaluate your thinking because you have lost any credibility you may have had. If you are an Obama fan admit Obama got his butt handed to him yet you are still going to vote for him. At least you will come across as credible.