Obama has a better tax plan..we're even steven now.

Romney hammering Obama.  Obama story not selling well.

Obama getting licks like peas!

Obama seemed uninterested and Romney was in campaign mode. Debates are more about emotions and how Presidential the candidates look. On both of these counts Romney can feel good about his performance.

Obama always start slow in a lot of aspects of life – debating included – and it showed tonight.

A defining feature of Romney tonight is Statism. He wants to have a lot of governance to be exercised at the local level – closer to the people.

Obama let opportunities to go after Romney when he indicated that people not on insurance would be shoveled off to Emergency rooms. He did not go after Romney on how he would let the 47% of moochers be left out of states with Republican Governors.

Obama was very Presidential. Romney came out punching. I am not sure which strategy worked. I guess we will have to wait for November to find out.

Romney lied about the $5 trillion deficit he would ring up with tax cuts for the wealthy. Obama did not jump on him enough on how closing tax loopholes for the rich would come close to 1/10 of that deficit.

Obama was too deferential. He had so much to throw at Romney but he was strangely detached. You have to wonder with all te good things Obama did why he cannot come across like Bill Clinton on showing what he did.

Rev will be on fire. 

Romney won the debate hands down. Obama seem uninterested and ill prepared. Obama has to be more aggressive in the second debate. This election is not over yet.

Hold your horses guys, we need to see how the dynamics of the campaign change and how Obama handles the second debate. If I were a democrat, I would be worried, very worried.

Interesting campaign ahead. Looks like Rev was part of the team that prepared Romney. 

Kari, That has been one of his weakness from the beginning. He cannot sell himself. I believe he is too HONEST to be a natural Politician.

Why should Democrats be worried, Romney has been saying the same things for years now. He was aggressive, that is something he can get away with as a Challenger. The President has to look Presidential and not like a street Fighter.

As I said before it's not about who wins the debate and kick whose ass. This debate will not move people that much. It will confirm the two clear and different choices of Romney and Obama. The Independents and swing voters would not have been moved by tonight's performance. Too much has been advertized about the two choices that have diminished the impact of debates.

There are moments that Obama could have exposed Romney's changing positions on Medicare and Health care and taxes on the rich, etc. Maybe the Foreign Policy debates will give him a natural lead-in on the moving positions of Romney and show how un-Presidential he can be.

Like in 2008 when he lowered his gaze and told Hillary she's likable enough, Obama looked disinterested tonight that he has to be hauled in front of an audience with a guy who clearly is not inspiring his own base.

Bhai Nehru

The president looked weak and unprepared. History can repeat itself, remember the honest man Carter ? The republican crushed him. Democrats and the president must be prepared for major debates. They failed very badly tonight.

Obama is intelligent and a great debater but he just did not show up tonight. His handlers are to blame. Romney was prepared and it shows.

Obama's closing statement was weak to say the least. I am being constructive. Obama has the skills but lost the debates. Romney just pushed Obama around.

The election is now a horse race. I am worried, very worried. Romney just crushed and chewed up Obama.

The democrats must now unleash some fire into this campaign. But the race is not over yet. 

Bhai, there is a difference in being weak vs looking presidential, very big difference.

Gist of the current situation.

Kari, make a long story short and accept defeat like a man. Go to bed if you're tired like Obama.

If I had the volume off and could have only observed the body language of the two men, I will say that Rommey won the debate. Romney was clearly more engaging...he was fluent, eloquent, smiled more, and had more eye contact. Obama on the other hand, frustrated me. He fumbled with his words almost each time he started a response. He lacked zest. He looked weary. He did not appear as confident as Romney. The President needs his debate coach to get on task like "yesterday".

I am NOT a fan of Romney.

I am not sure if the "handlers" are to blame. I agree with you that Romney's preparedness was evident. Indeed, Obama's closing was weak. No, Romney did not push Obama around.

CNN polls give the debates 67 percent to 25 percent to Romney. That amounts to pushed around and being spanked.

Because he has his record staring at him and you cannot bluff that.

All that tonight does is to bring out the media to begin the perjury proceedings on the inaccuracies of Romney and to wail that his plans continue to be a secret.

Obama did the same things he did against Hillary and McCain and guess what happened?

Obama followed the advisors, stay calm and cool and let Romney screw up.  It did not wotk.

The primaries are a different ball-game.  Obama got lucky McCain chose the nut Sarah Palin.

Correct

Obama should have been himself, Al Gore's handlers made him loose the election. The democrats must smarten up or history can repeat itself. Republicans are now fired up.

I will now go in hiding since Rev Al will show up and told us that he was dead on regarding his prediction on the debate results.

A record of private sector job growth since 2009?

A record of saving over 1 million jobs while saving the auto industry?

A record of changing health care delivery from fee for service to pay for success?

A record of insuring millions of uninsured thus saving billions in Emergency room treatment down the road?

A record of tremendous growth in American oil and gas production?

A record of export growth?

A record of ensuring that we do not get the financial collapse of 2008?

That's a lot of good records staring Obama in his face. Why does he have to bluff that?

Well, you hope so, don't you?

And you see how Romney's pick of Paul Ryan is driving seniors in Florida into Obama's arms. Thats 29 Electoral College votes.

Kari Bhai

Obama had his chance to state the facts but he fell apart during the debates. We have to admit that he lost badly, failed to prepare and just did not show us his great skills.

This was complete failure. The dynamics of the election will now change. 

Early polling are not looking good for the democrats. Bill Clinton gave Obama a great bounce at the convention but Obama blew the first debate.

And I agree, this was not the best choice.  Obama may get lucky again.

ditto!! ditto!! ditto!!

Obama will win 2012 like he did in 2008 - with inspiration and aspiration for the American people. He has a disdain for debates and he will never look good in them. I will repeat, the debates are less impactful in the modern era than before. For one thing voters are deluged with the positions and gaffes and how slippery candidates look long before the elections. It is the undecided Independents and swing voters that are up for grabs. Guess what - they are smaller now at this stage of the elections than in previous elections. Y'all reading too much into this. How much will the debates change what voters know about Romney and Obama? Romney wants small government, lower taxes and less regulation and half the nation moochers can go to hell. Obama wants a balanced restructuring of the American economy following the 2008 financial meltdown, the housing crisis, the lost manufacturing jobs and the demographic dividend - more entitlement people than contributors. Obama leads by over 100 Electoral College votes in all estimates. A 2% gap in popular polling can result in such large swings at States Electoral College votes.

And wait til;l the bumbling Romney on foreign affairs gets called on after the perjury expose that will surely follow te lies and inaccuracies and secretive plans of Romney following tonight's debate.

Obama allowed Mitt to get away with his PBS statement.

Good morning Vish.

Obama allowed Mitt to get away with the entire debate.

Obama did not "allow" anything, he lacked content and could not mitigate the facts.  On foreign policy in next debate, the GOP will focus on the Libyan fiasco and the US bungled response.  Osama done dead and bury.

I wonder which country you're living in. Or are you in the Fox Noise bubble? You know nothing about foreign policy so shut up. What facts Obama could not mitigate? Do you know anything about Economics? About the social compact in this country that started with Eisenhower? You wanna go back to the 19th century? Stop wasting people's time here on this board with your juvenile opinions.

tell 'em like it is. Obama looked disinterested, tired and as he had better things to do than engage Romney in a debate. This was just one debate, there is much more to assess his worth on.  He has his heart in the right place and it shows in the policies and programs he adopts. He is sincere and well grounded and causes one to feel that you can trust him to take right decisions for our present and future.

There is a mix on GNI, the intellectuals and analysts like you Kari (BTW are you Karimullah from late 70s QC?), the biggest intellect on the board though is Stormborn , then there is Caribny and the bright funny man Cain, and then the impressionable ones that go where the winds of popular opinion take them like baseman, yugi, and then the sickos, the waste of timers, nehru, abidha etc. What a site!

The blackman has disappointed me. I was expecting more assertiveness and confidence from him, instead he allowed the Mormon to walk all over his ass.
Of course, this is not the end. And I hope he comes out looking like the commander in chief next time around instead of a subdued *****cat.

Angel, I was at QC from 68 - 76. I was the middle brother and we were separated by 4 years, so you must be referring to my younger brother.

I don't just intellectualize arguments and I'm not as wordy and expansive and all across the Board like some.

Obama was probably dragged out of the Situation room where he was goading Turkey to assault Syria; and then he must have said "shit...I gotta do this with a man who hates half the nation? He's bored with this kind of format. Look for the town-hall style debate and the foreign policy ones where Romney will be bumbling.

Obama needs to be told the truth.  Obama's problem is that he was liede to be his supporters who told him that he is a Brown Jesus.  Now he must fight to protect those who support him, he doesnt know how.

Lets hope he fixes his problem soon.  His speech at the Convention was disappointing and his performance last night was a nightmare.

You are getting excited over polls.  We do not know who will or will not vote, because we know that key components of Obama's 2008 victory, college kids and blacks, are WORSE off today than they were then and that high numbers from these groups are likely not to vote (there goes FL,NC,VA if this happens). 

Almost 50% of recent grads are either unemployed, or work at jobs that do not require a college degree.  And huge numbers of black home owners have lost their homes/ or fear that they will, and account for up to 40% of the long term unemployed, and in some cities (New York being an example) up to 50% have not worked for a year.  Also Hispanics in key states like Arizona and Nevada are in a bad way, though thanks to the KKK like activities of the GOP in those states Obama might get a "fear" vote from this group.  But what of Puerto Ricans in FL who will be a key group to offset FL's Cuban and Redneck vote.

So if Obama mumbles and bumbles and acts as if he is tired of being President his lead might not be sustainable.  He has ONE more chance to redeem himself.

Kari with an economy which is stagnant, effective unemployment rates approaching 20%, once we include the discouraged workers, and part timers who want to work full time, and with a tired personality who is clearly intellectually exhausted, Obama inspires no one except for his "Amen Chorus".  Happily he was beaten up by supporters like Ed Shultz and others and so for once is hearing the truth.

Far too often too mnay have found excuse after excuse for him, and so he is unprepared to thrash simpletons like Romney who should be easy to deal with.

And do not assume that Romney will be "bumbling" on foreign affairs.  He is "bumbling" on the economy and yet he thrashed Obama.

I have to give this first debate to Romney..He surprised me.  The man did his homework, he had a plan for everything the most important being how he would create jobs.  He plans on expanding trade with Latin America, which is an original, well thought out plan.  His tax plan was not the best, but the way he sold it made it sound believable.

Obama seemed ill prepared.  He is capable of much more, let's wait and see what happens at the next round.  And I agree with Miraver, his body language gave it away.