The Great Debate Megathread! Black Lincoln versus whiter, richer Douglas!

[CountDeMoney]

I gave up on understanding how this stuff worked when Gore wiped the floor with Bush during the debate on policy, but it was a disaster for Gore because he was sighing when Bush said really dumb crap. That, and when Bush's "fuzzy math" line actually worked for him.

Yeah, on paper, Gore wins those debates hands-down in the transcripts.
But as we all know, debates aren't played out on paper.  They're played out inside the television screen, by really tiny debaters.  And Obama looked really tiny tonight.

[alfred russel]

I gave up on understanding how this stuff worked when Gore wiped the floor with Bush during the debate on policy, but it was a disaster for Gore because he was sighing when Bush said really dumb crap. That, and when Bush's "fuzzy math" line actually worked for him.

Yeah, on paper, Gore wins those debates hands-down in the transcripts.
But as we all know, debates aren't played out on paper.  They're played out inside the television screen, by really tiny debaters.  And Obama looked really tiny tonight.

I have trouble watching these things. The pressure the debaters are under must be unreal. It is like lining up to kick a do or die field goal in the super bowl, except the kick takes 1.5 hours.

[CountDeMoney]

It is like lining up to kick a do or die field goal in the super bowl, except the kick takes 1.5 hours.

Meh, I prefer the boxing metaphors myself.  And not only did Obama not land any punches, he covered up and absorbed the hits without swinging.  He was: a black Gerry Clooney

[CountDeMoney]

The Washington Post's post-mortem

* The grimness of Barack Obama: There's a fine line between sober/serious and grim/uninterested when it comes to the optics of these debates, and the incumbent was on the wrong side of it Wednesday night. Whether it was his habit of looking down for the majority of Romney's answers or the pique he displayed when debate moderator Jim Lehrer interrupted him, Obama looked like he'd prefer to be somewhere else.  In many ways what Obama seemed to be doing was taking on the persona he used to much success in 2008 when he was careful to show he was ready for the job. But, now that he has been in the job for four years, Obama's demeanor came across far less well.  Remember that voters see their vote for president as electing a leader not just a set of policy positions. And, Obama the glum is not the leader people want to vote for.


* Romney's prepared competence...and more: If the main goal for Romney in this debate was to show he could stand on stage with the president and handle a wide-ranging discussion on economic policy, he did so with flying colors. Romney's strength as a debater — as demonstrated during the GOP primaries — is his ability to recall massive amounts of information with little seeming effort and he did that time and again on Wednesday night. Romney didn't just deliver a sort of hyper-competence, however. He was at times funny — his quip at the beginning of the debate about the president spending his wedding anniversary at a debate was a good one — and delivered plenty of quotable moments ("you pick the losers", "you're entitled to your own airplane and your own house") that will be replayed again and again in the after-action analysis.


* Numbers, numbers and more numbers: For the first half of the 90 minute debate, it appeared as though Obama and Romney were trying to one-up one another with how deeply they could go into the numbers behind certain policies.  The goal for each man was clear; Obama wanted to show that Romney's math doesn't add up, Romney wanted to hold the incumbent accountable for the spending decisions he has made in the first four years. But, our strong sense is that for undecided voters watching the debate most of that segment passed in a blur of numbers, giving them no broader sense of what the candidates want to do — and why.  Moderator Jim Lehrer seemed content to let the two men go down the numbers wormhole, perhaps believing that such a conversation was what the public wants from the two men. And maybe it is. But we would be surprised.


* No Bain, no "47 percent": Inarguably, Obama came into tonight's debate with more obvious set-piece attacks on Romney.  But, he seemed to be disinterested in using them. He made no mention of either Romney's "47 percent" comment or Romney's work with Bain Capital — two demonstrably difficult topics for the former Massachusetts governor.  Our guess is that Obama and his team made the calculated decision not to hit Romney on either matter because a) it wouldn't look presidential and b) it's already penetrated deep into the political consciousness of the electorate.  Maybe so. But does it ever hurt to repeat the attacks that have been proven to work against your opponent?

[katmai]

As one of my friends posted on twitter, Obama is waiting till last debate to mention 47%, Bain till last debate as he realizes how short the public memory is  

[Sheilbh]

67% of the CNN poll thought Romney won.  That's the highest ever number in one of their post-debate polls.

[DGuller]

Well, I went all-in on Fake Intrade, putting all of my fake $5,000 on Obama.  I think this 9% post-debate dip is a vast over-reaction.  I put my fake money where my fingers are.

[CountDeMoney]

67% of the CNN poll thought Romney won.  That's the highest ever number in one of their post-debate polls.

A lot of the flash polls and twitters I've seen:  Biggest winner?  Romney.  Biggest loser?  Big Bird.

[DGuller]

The one place where Obama clearly lost was in getting the last word in.  After the first segment, IIRC, he let Romney close regardless of who started.  Definitely doesn't speak well of his assertiveness when dealing with opposition.

[CountDeMoney]

Biggest observation I've seen tonight was from Steve Schmidt: 
Romney now has momentum, the most important thing he needs to do in the next two weeks is not do or say something stupid on the campaign trail, which is by no means a sure thing the way this campaign has managed itself.

[DGuller]

I think the biggest counter-punch opportunity lost for Obama was when Mitt Romney was talking about poor souls who need to be supported.  He should've countered with "Yes, you say that to American people now, but that's not what you said to your rich donors behind closed doors.  Did you mean what you said then, or do you mean what you say now?"

[CountDeMoney]

I think the biggest counter-punch opportunity lost for Obama was when Mitt Romney was talking about poor souls who need to be supported.  He should've countered with "Yes, you say that to American people now, but that's not what you said to your rich donors behind closed doors.  Did you mean what you said then, or do you mean what you say now?"

Personally, I would've ended the debate with the PBS thing.

"Governor Romney, my campaign and your Republican opponents have made a lot of mileage over your role with Bain Capital and, whether the criticism is considered warranted or not, as a 'vulture capitalist', but you've just elevated the bar on cold humanity by axing Sesame Street.  Congratulations on establishing a new personal low." 

Thank you Denver, and good night.

[DGuller]

   I'd go with my zinger.

[DGuller]

Wow, 11% drop on Intrade now.  I've never felt more frustrated at being unable to trade there.  The crowd is nuts.

[alfred russel]

Maybe he should have gone with both?