I usually go with the MSNBC pundits, but this time I am not so sure

[Cary]

Would it really have worked if President Obama would have gone after Rmoney more aggressively? Isn't that the job of the pundits?

Reverend Al had the right message and he did manage to talk Chris Matthews down a little. Rmoney lied. His mendacity is outrageous. We need to be outraged.

I am sure the Obama campaign focus grouped this. I'm sure they knew something that Chris Matthews didn't. It isn't the immediate impact of the debate that's important.

[bettydavis]

1. I sooooo agree. They were like sports casters or something...

Rmoney didn't win. there was no winner to that boring waste of frickin time debate. I posted this 3 times already and I won't again but: it's rope a dope. I wanted Barack to call him a friggin liar to his face too but he can't really do that. Uncle Joe don't give a f*ck. he will hand Ryan his a$$ and then the president can get a little more demonstrative in his frustration. Rmoney likend the 1st AA prez to one of his "boys" and DO NOT think for a MINUTE that Barack didn't hear that and process it. Check the vid, check his face. he did. He is holding back. Rope a dope honey. It will all work out. we must keep calm...

[soleft]

2. Rev. Al and O'Donnell were calm in the middle of the storm

[tridim]

4. Ed was the worst of the bunch IMO

He went straight to the idiotic football analogy.

[Cary]

8. Ed was utterly obnoxious about it.

Why?

Even if it was true, why go ballistic? Ratings?

[Jennicut]

10. Tweety and Ed are more emotional types

and Rev Al and Lawrence are usually calmer and more rational. It is usually the way it is. Tweety and Ed come from a background where louder is better and pure intellectualism is not as highly rated as attack politics. I love them both but they don't always see the forest through the trees. They are very caught up in the style of the debate but not the overall picture that Romney gave a lot of ammo to the Dems last night in his lies.

[Cali_Democrat]

29. Out of everyone on MSNBC I trust O'Donnell's instincts the most

He's very knowledgeable.

[hrmjustin]

3. I disagree. I think he needs to be more aggressive.

If he is not, he will not win.

[earthside]

6. What bothers me ...

... is not so much what Pres. Obama said, but the way he said it, presented it.

The hesitant speech, the looking down, the low tone of voice -- he's the 'commander-in-chief' of the U.S. military -- that's the way he must present himself, with that kind of assurance and confidence.

[Bigleaf]

28. Agree 100%. That bothered me most last night. He looked meek and weak. And I hate saying that.

I'm sure he'll be much more confident and assured for the remaining 2 debates.

[Cary]

9. I just don't see that.

Nor do I see the efficacy of even thinking that might be true.

[seabeyond]

5. i am pretty sure obama would have been blasted in all kinds of manners if he had.

as it is they hold it to romney lied, pres looked presidential.

[Cary]

11. Blasted, regardless.

Who didn't think President Obama was going to be blasted?

Do people look good when they directly call someone a liar? I don't think that's what President Obama needed to do. We know Rmoney is lying. We're the ones that need to be sticking that to Rmoney.

I think President Obama did a lot better than he's being given credit for.

[seabeyond]

13. i agree with you. i also know what it is like to try and defend

against so many lies, in such a small time. i also thing a little less rambling with the part i heard. i also think it is a good point to perceive one is going to have one argument of months of a campaign, to be floored when throw with such ridiculous lies at the start.

it all makes sense.

and hopefully, next time will be better for them.

[Cary]

15. I argue for a living.

I often have to confront liars. It is critical to keep your cool and allow people to sort through it themselves, coming to their own conclusion.

I have to say that President Obama is better at that than I will ever be.

[seabeyond]

17. ya. that is what i learned. you put it out once. maybe even stress a second time, then you gotta

walk away.

[treestar]

21. True. I wish these critics would actually picture in their minds Obama calling Rmoney a liar or wha

whatever it is that they want him to say, and see if that pictures works - if Obama would seem like himself and if he wouldn't be subject to greater criticism.

[anneboleyn]

31. Exactly, "angry black man" issue

If Obama had been "too" combative, as the too-often idiotic Chris Matthews seems to be advocating, he would have been criticized/caricatured (obliquely of course) on Fox and elsewhere as the "angry black man"

[Cosmocat]

7. Democrats/liberals/progressives

If everything about this was reversed completely, the republicans would have found some rationale/justification and got in line in saying their candidate won. Ds are piling on the president more than fricken Rs.

People need to nut the fruck up here.

The Rs now think their vote counts twice, but it does not. The Ds are doing their work in piling on the president.

Both sides already have their votes set in stone.

The undecideds - some are R leaning by nature and will like that Romney was "assertive" and are prone to like the crape he spewed.

Everyone else, frankly, it will break to BO. Romney was hyper active and unbelievable. BO was calm and believable.

It might give Romney a bit of an uptick in giving some air to a completely deflated right wing, and maybe push the R leaners over to him.

But, is not NEAR as bad as people are making it out to be.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. "nut the fruck up here"

[Grammy23]

14. I had to turn off MSNBC after listening to them for a while---

With the noted exceptions (Sharpton, O'Donnell and perhaps Hayes) the rest of the gang at MSNBC were hysterical and ranting about Obama's performance or....shall we say? Lack of performance. I got sick of them ragging on the President with a bunch of WOODAH, SHOODAH, CUDDAH crap. I was feeling a little let down after the debate, but after watching THEM I was in the dumps for sure. I hope they got it out of their system because that is NOT what we need to hear until the next debate.

Honestly, I think we need to wait and see how all of this influences the minds of the remaining people who are still "undecided" how they plan to vote. We know most likely none of us was persuaded to jump ship and go for Romney. The question is how will it play out in the minds of those who really are trying to make a choice. Even if some got inclined to go with Romney, there is still time before the election for them to hear commentary on what happened last night. THE LIES WILL BE EXPOSED.

My hope is that the folks in the MSM will wake up today and realize they just had a hissy fit last night because they were hoping Obama would come out taking names, kicking ass and asking questions later. That didn't happen. They just need to get over it and move on. And so do we.

Like everything that has happened in this campaign, it takes TIME to know what the real effect will be. We didn't know the fall out from the 47 % comments for over a week and we won't know about the debate until some time has passed, too.

Now is not the time to wave the white flag of surrender! Obama camp needs to regroup, RELEASE NEW ADS exposing the lies and come to the next debate prepared to fight back more aggressively without stooping to Romney's tactics. The Prez has time to do this and we need to just remain calm and keep going forward.

[Cary]

16. I was tempted to turn off the TV while Rmoney was speaking.

Yes, the lies will be exposed. That is the take away from this.

Mark my words here: no one will remember anything else.

[anneboleyn]

32. I honestly think killing Big Bird will be the takeaway

The way that meme exploded last night and today-- it clearly got more attention than any other line spoken, and it makes Rmoney look like a heartless ass.

[Blue Idaho]

18. Chicken Little Roundtable

What a pathetic performance by the talking heads crowd. I expect fair weather friendship from Big Ego and Tweetie but not from Rachael and some of the other usual suspects. At least Rev Al was honest enough to point out Rmoney's constant stream of lies and half truths.

One might suspect their motives - are they promoting the "horse race" narrative to jack up their program ratings?

[treestar]

19. I agree, they always judge Obama

whereas Rushbo and Hannity and Beck don't do that to their candidates. It's a disadvantage we have. You can always find something wrong. But for them to call out Obama rather than Rmoney for lying is disgusting. Proves they just want controversy and a horse race and have no real positions on the issues. Sometimes they seem to be on our side, but that's just because it is to their interests at times.

[polichick]

20. With that huge audience the President should have corrected...

Rmoney every time - that kind of opportunity doesn't happen often.

I have to think something was up with the President last night - he seemed distracted, not all there. Maybe we'll eventually hear what was up.

[Cary]

22. Or maybe it's just not so easy?

It's a lot easier to second guess than it is to go out there and do it. Hey, when you second guess no one can prove you wrong.

Something up? That too is a wild guess. He didn't seem at all distracted to me and I watched it all. He was something that Rmoney wasn't: honest.

[polichick]

26. Well, he sure does a better job on the stump...

Maybe he wasn't troubled by anything (gov't, kids. etc.) - maybe he just zoned out because he was tired or because the strategy was to be low-key. Whatever the reason, he looks great on the stump (excellent today!) and last night missed an opportunity to show 60 million people exactly what a liar Rmoney is.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. Now if only the average voter draws the same conclusions we can

Hint: They usually don't

[Cary]

24. I don't know about you, but I tend to be in the mainstream

If the mainstream turns out and votes then my preferred candidates almost always win.

[LiberalFighter]

25. Sometimes Tweety is sane and sometimes he goes wacko like he might be on Red Bull.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

27. I'm not down with the hysterics coming from Tweety and Big Ed. I've decided to turn the t.v.

off for the next few days.

[Cary]

30. Shocked to hear Norman Goldman talking sense tonight.

He says the hysterics were about making this a horse race so the media has something to talk about.

Not sure I agree but I would have expected Norm to be in on the hysterics.


Shocked and very pleased. If Norm can do it, we all can.

[think_cubed]

33. Eh ..

I agree partially with the pundits .. I mean , Mitt Romney was on the ropes. All the President needed to do was come with the haymaker .. I am inclined to think that, as the rest of us , they witnessed the disaster that has been the Romney campaign over the past year and assumed that all Obama needed to do was show up and be 'Presidential' . . Maybe they assumed Romney would throw around the same rhetoric . And perhaps if he had done so we wouldn't be having this discussion .. Instead he came into the debate almost a completely different candidate..its brilliant when you think about it.. the Romney campaign knew it didn't have a leg to stand on , so they just took someone else's ! No surprise there

[NCLefty]

34. I think Maddow is the coolest head.

O'Donnell is too smug and slow-talkey for my tastes :p