Courtesy of Mish.
I watched the debate once again and I thought it was a very spirited tie although an instant poll had Obama winning.
The debate was certainly unlike any we have seen before, with heated discussion and interruptions from both candidates who freely wandered around on the stage, often moving close to each other.
Politico offers a Debate Transcript.
One thing is certain, Obama did much better in this debate than the first. He also delivered a solid close in contrast to a miserable flop last time. Romney did OK but not as good as last time.
The instant poll of undecided voters had Obama winning 37% to 33% with 33% calling it a tie.
Both candidates scored some points and it is likely that supporters of each candidate thought their candidate won. On some points I agreed with the president, on others I agreed with Romney.
Questions were from an audience of supposedly undecided voters. I wonder how many of them really were.
A “gotcha” question on Libya (from someone I believe is a closet Romney voter) turned out to be anything but “gotcha”. Obama handled himself well, and the commentators after the debate noted that Republican strategists were likely to drop Libya as a talking point.
Similarly, there were cream-puff questions on women’s issues that seemed like they were from closet Obama supporters.
I thought Romney generally did better on energy, but it was by no means a knockout.
On jobs, people will probably believe what they want to believe.
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