Who Won the First Presidential Debate of the 2012 Election?

Can I vote if I didn't watch it?

Jim Lehrer

Romney won that debate. Obama was flat and gave a poor performance.

I didn't vote. But regardless of what actually happened or how many people actually watched Obama will win by default on this site. Guaranteed. QUOTE ME!!!

@JasonR86 said:

I didn't vote. But regardless of what actually happened or how many people actually watched Obama will win by default on this site. Guaranteed. QUOTE ME!!!

OK. Quoted.

Romney the best. I like Gary Whitta but watching him cry about the debate on Twitter was hilarious.

Romney. Obama really needs to be more aggressive and he just wasn't tonight.

Fucking Randy Savage won.

@Chaser324 said:

@JasonR86 said:

I didn't vote. But regardless of what actually happened or how many people actually watched Obama will win by default on this site. Guaranteed. QUOTE ME!!!

OK. Quoted.

Thank you.

Romney pretty much won. I think that's because Obama was expecting to adhere to some kind of structure, while Romney took advantage of this thing being basically lawless.

We all know who won the debate. Here's some quotes:

James Carville, "Obama did not bring his A-Game tonight."

John King: "Obama looked rusty tonight."

Bill Maher: "Obama made a lot of great points tonight. Unfortunately, most of them were for Romney.", "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter."

John McCain: "If that debate was a fight they would've stopped it!"

Dennis Miller: "Obama better hope that a "kicked ass" is covered under Obamacare".

Communism.

@DoctorWelch said:

Romney pretty much won. I think that's because Obama was expecting to adhere to some kind of structure, while Romney took advantage of this thing being basically lawless.

BOTH took advantage, to say Obama didn't is a joke, Jim just didn't try to interrupt him like he did Romney. And there was no structure within the first 5 minutes of it.

Dick Tweedle.

"Whoever wins...we lose."

Me. I didn't watch it!

mmm they are all on youtube... maybeeee I'll watch...

romney won but it's not like these debates really matter

I know that the USA is the first super power (or possibly second to China now) but your electoral campaign last a really long time, and must cost an absurd amount of money, it feel like it’s been going on for over 1 years.

They do matter. Especially to the very few undecided voters who actually exist. Every single one of them will tell you they are looking forward to the debates if they take the election seriously. It is where each candidate makes their case against the other candidate in the most public way. More people will watch one of the major debates than will ever watch a political rally or even a TV interview.

@Nightriff said:

@DoctorWelch said:

Romney pretty much won. I think that's because Obama was expecting to adhere to some kind of structure, while Romney took advantage of this thing being basically lawless.

BOTH took advantage, to say Obama didn't is a joke, Jim just didn't try to interrupt him like he did Romney. And there was no structure within the first 5 minutes of it.

It's not a joke. Romney took advantage of the fact that the Moderator didn't do his job, and Obama didn't. That was the sole factor that decided who came out on top.

@astrotriforce said:

They do matter. Especially to the very few undecided voters who actually exist. Every single one of them will tell you they are looking forward to the debates if they take the election seriously. It is where each candidate makes their case against the other candidate in the most public way. More people will watch one of the major debates than will ever watch a political rally or even a TV interview.

those swing voters aren't going to be convinced by what romney has to say though, especially considering he didn't really say anything. I mean yes he spoke better than Obama but Obama was detailing his plans whilst Romney was handwaving his plans with "oh we'll do this and this and this" and never explaining how. Romney was playing to his base, and that's all it was.

I know that the USA is the first super power (or possibly second to China now) but your electoral campaign last a really long time, and must cost an absurd amount of money, it feel like it’s been going on for over 1 years.

Also any potential benefit Romney gained from this is going to be offset by the ads Obama will run. So much stuff ripe for the picking (if it were me I would pick the fact that he said religious freedom and then 10 seconds later we are all children of the Creator or whatever but that is just me)

CNN poll has 67% of voters giving the debate to Romney. Giantbomb poll is funny.

I'd like to see how they would do if Jill Stein and Gary Johnson were allowed to participate.

@ABK_92 said:

Romney the best. I like Gary Whitta but watching him cry about the debate on Twitter was hilarious.

Yes, Gary Whitta needs to fucking chill on twitter. The dude is gonna have a heart attack.

@SmilingPig said:

I know that the USA is the first super power (or possibly second to China now) but your electoral campaign last a really long time, and must cost an absurd amount of money, it feel like it’s been going on for over 1 years.

The nomination process is longer, and felt drawn out this time around due to the crazy 24/7 news cycle. And it does cost a crazy amount of money, but its all privately funded through donations, even though everyone feels the need to cry poverty in this country.

Also the USA is still the top superpower, and maybe the only superpower on the planet. The whole China thing gets overblown, I feel like Americans need to manufacture some sort of rival, haven't really had one since the USSR broke up.

@Animasta said:

@astrotriforce said:

They do matter. Especially to the very few undecided voters who actually exist. Every single one of them will tell you they are looking forward to the debates if they take the election seriously. It is where each candidate makes their case against the other candidate in the most public way. More people will watch one of the major debates than will ever watch a political rally or even a TV interview.

those swing voters aren't going to be convinced by what romney has to say though, especially considering he didn't really say anything. I mean yes he spoke better than Obama but Obama was detailing his plans whilst Romney was handwaving his plans with "oh we'll do this and this and this" and never explaining how. Romney was playing to his base, and that's all it was.

Even MSNBC, Obamaland, disagrees with your assessment. In fact Tom Brokaw called it one of the most substantive debates we've ever seen from both sides, but more-so Romney. Whether swing voters will be swayed is up to them to decide. We'll see what happens in the coming days.

Chris Mathews: "I don't know what Obama was doing tonight. He had his head down. He was enduring the debate instead of fighting it."

Obama just seemed bored and uninterested in what was going on. Hopefully the, rightfully, negative press he gets from it will wake him up.

Romney was a formidable opponent and President Obama seemed like he was expecting a pushover. It left him looking unprepared and out-of-sorts. Expect him to not make this mistake again and instead come out fighting.

As Gary Whitta frustratedly advised to President Obama for the next debate, "Just debate that guy! And use some more skill!"

Oh American politics, you so silly.

I was pretty disappointed in Obama's performance, he should have been able to do better than that. Romney won the debate.

I don't get the "(Obama) didn't bring his A-game tonight" thing. It's not like there are 30 debates between now and election time, and it's not like the others will be as domestically focused as tonight. If Obama didn't bring his "A-game" tonight, he didn't have an A-game to use.

Not that it matters because he's going to win next month, but subscribing to the theory that he was holding back tonight is fucking retarded.

Romney won. Obama was a huge letdown. He needs to step his shit up for the rest of them.

Not that I think the result of the debate will change what happens in the election all that much. The vast majority of people already know who they're voting for.

@astrotriforce said:

@Animasta said:

@astrotriforce said:

They do matter. Especially to the very few undecided voters who actually exist. Every single one of them will tell you they are looking forward to the debates if they take the election seriously. It is where each candidate makes their case against the other candidate in the most public way. More people will watch one of the major debates than will ever watch a political rally or even a TV interview.

those swing voters aren't going to be convinced by what romney has to say though, especially considering he didn't really say anything. I mean yes he spoke better than Obama but Obama was detailing his plans whilst Romney was handwaving his plans with "oh we'll do this and this and this" and never explaining how. Romney was playing to his base, and that's all it was.

Even MSNBC, Obamaland, disagrees with your assessment. In fact Tom Brokaw called it one of the most substantive debates we've ever seen from both sides, but more-so Romney. Whether swing voters will be swayed is up to them to decide. We'll see what happens in the coming days.

Chris Mathews: "I don't know what Obama was doing tonight. He had his head down. He was enduring the debate instead of fighting it."

HE DIDNT SAY ANYTHING.

how can swing voters be persuaded by Romney? Like, what are his plans? to close tax loopholes? Like that's the only thing I got out of him that was somewhat useful information. He certainly strongarmed Obama and the moderator (it was probably robo cocaine for mittbot) but he never said any useful information. these swing voters are typically not persuaded by just a person speaking better, they have to say things about their plans that make sense.

You cannot win a debate, and even if you could, there is no way to quantify the results.

@KaneRobot said:

I don't get the "(Obama) didn't bring his A-game tonight" thing. It's not like there are 30 debates between now and election time, and it's not like the others will be as domestically focused as tonight. If Obama didn't bring his "A-game" tonight, he didn't have an A-game to use.

Not that it matters because he's going to win next month, but subscribing to the theory that he was holding back tonight is fucking retarded.

He's not holding back, he just didn't prepare. As an independent, if that is the attitude he brings to these, then why should I vote for him? With only 2 more debates between these 2 I expect him to be better and more prepared but this was a very, very, very poor showing from him.

Also, FUCK the post debate spin and analysis. YOU watched it. Why do you turn on your TV and have other people tell you how to interpret it? Seriously, who cares what Bill Maher or Chris Matthews think, can't you form your own opinion? This is whats wrong with politics. This is why we only get assholes in these elections.

Neither. I thought it was a poor debate to be honest. Looking forward to the VP debate though.

I didn't see it but how could romney possibly win?

Everyone should be careful about assigning too much to these debates. They count but they aren't everything where I could swear Bush has the worst performance in all of his appearances. I don't think doing better against Gore would have changed the outcome of 2000 (mostly because of how clumsy Florida went) and Kerry arguably did even better than Gore did in front of the camera yet Bush beat him even more soundly.

Someone already summed it up:

I must admit that the president seemed underprepared. He presumed that Romney had already self-destructed this past month and wasn't ready for a fight. Somehow they both managed to make Romney's past record as Governor look spotless, which could sway undecideds.

What was weird, and could backfire, was Romney's sudden attempts to be more left-wing than Obama. Suddenly he's abandoned his five trillion tax cut for the super-rich, because that would cut into domestic programs that people like? He's not just going to repeal the banking regulations, he's going to make them STRONGER?! He's going repeal "Obamacare," then replace it with what sounds like all the same reforms?! If all this is true, then why the fuck should republicans vote for him? That's not their ideology. What a desperate weirdo, so hungry to be more popular than Obama that he's now trying to convince the world that he IS Obama, but white. He may have eked out a win in this debate, but his crazy base may eat him alive for it.

@s10129107 said:

Also, FUCK the post debate spin and analysis. YOU watched it. Why do you turn on your TV and have other people tell you how to interpret it? Seriously, who cares what Bill Maher or Chris Matthews think, can't you form your own opinion? This is whats wrong with politics. This is why we only get assholes in these elections.

I like to compare what I thought of the debate to what OTHERS thought of the debate. Rarely does it change my opinion, I go with gut feeling and unlike a lot of people, even on movies, I don't change my opinion in hindsight, I stick with what I thought when I first saw it because that's my REAL opinion. Like Matrix Reloaded kicksass. PERIOD.

I think Romney gave a better performance, but if you were to just read a script of what they said he still doesn't get into specifics about any of his plans. And did he just abandon his whole 5 trillion deficit plan he had been talking about for over a year? Anyway I think Obama could tank the next one too and he would still be in great shape.

Obama was looking quite tired...but that might be because he's focusing on running a country as well as running for re-election where as Romney had more energy, as he just has to kiss hands and shake babies.

Every prediction says Romney wins in a LANDSLIDE. Including a mathmatical equation that's never been wrong, and a Las Vegas betting guy who's never been wrong. We'll see what happens though. In the mathmatical equation (which predicted Obama beating Hillary and Bush winning the Electoral Collage in 2000; going against conventional wisdom) Romney wins virtually every battleground state.

The Las Vegas guy argues that Obama will be DOWN in virtually every demographic, from black voters to Hispanics to Catholics to Democrats in general. And, the usual predictor, most people will vote for the challenger when the economy is horrible.

I can't believe the election is only a month away though. Insane. :/

50/50 seems about right, they're both as shit as each other.

Whoever won...

we lost...

EDIT: Guess I should read the other posts before posting.