Even if Obama had gone after Romney with a meat cleaver

[PlanetBev]

I believe Romney still would have gotten a bounce. Romney performed (lied) well enough for the GOP base to dig him out of his grave, drag him across the cemetary lawn and out the front gate.

This what the MSM wanted and even if Obama had performed as well as Romney, they were not going to be denied their horse race.

[oswaldactedalone]

1. NOT true

All Obama had to do was look like he cared, called RobMe out as an Etch a Sketch candidate or something memorable. He would've been seen as standing up and throwing his own punch. Instead, he melted into the scenery and the result is what you see now.

[RBInMaine]

3. Do you need to some kind of mood upper? Please take one. Let the debate SINK and move the hell on.

And, YES, RobMe was going to get a bounce no matter what. The challenger almost always does just be virtue of being up there on the stage. But RobMe LIED and FLIPPED and they are hammering him on it now. And the BIG BIRD gaffe aint playing well with the folks. So CHILL, and stop worrying about the debate.

[LisaL]

2. Obama could have told Romney that Romney was telling untruth, every now and then.

[treestar]

4. I tend to agree

There are a few reports on DU of people who watched the debate without the media commentary and they don't see the "loss" the M$M has created out of whole cloth.

[doc03]

10. I was out of town in a motel that didn't have MSNBC so

I watched the debate on network TV, I didn't see where he done so bad either. I didn't watch any of the talking heads afterwords either I fell asleep. I wish he would have been more aggressive on calling out Romney's lies. But I thought maybe he was just letting him talk and keep digging himself a deeper hole. It wasn't till the next morning when I turned on the Left on XM that I heard how awful it was and how Tweety had a total meltdown over it.

[book_worm]

5. It is probable that Obama might have lost the debate anyway, but...

there's a big difference in losing 66-20 among a huge TV audience and losing narrowly--a narrow loss wouldn't have affected the polls as much and people would have given Obama credit for standing up to Mitten's lies.

[MrSlayer]

6. Disagree.

Obama could have easily mitigated the damage by simply looking Mittens in the eye and standing up straight. He didn't have to be overly forceful and aggressive but he did need to look like he wasn't shrinking or weak. He failed in that. He looked sheepish when accused and guilty as well.

Willard wouldn't have gotten much of a bump at all had the President bothered to show up. He got nothing from his convention, he shouldn't have been allowed to get anything from the debate.

[Lex]

7. The challenger almost ALWAYS get the bounce in the polls after the 1st debate. nt

[wishlist]

8. Obama did rebut Romney on Medicare lie, tax lie, preex condits lie

Problem was that Romney tripled down on his same lies even after being rebutted by Obama on Medicare, pre-existing conditions, taxes. Obama hammered Romney about his tax plan flipflop but Romney would not back down. I don't get how so many in media and posters here on Du keep saying that Obama never responded or rebutted anything. No question Obama's closing statement should have been stronger but Romney got the benefit of the final closing statement where he could repeat his lies again without Obama having a chance to counter again.

I do believe that if Obama had been more confrontational and accusatory toward Romney, media would have spun it as Obama being angry and losing his cool and present Obama more negatively than just being able to say he was lackluster. Media definitely underplayed how hyper Romney's behavior appeared whereas had Obama been that aggressive, he would have been criticized.

[Angry Dragon]

9. Next debate both should be hooked-up to an automatic

fact-checker electric shock machine that increases the shock after every lie


Willard would be dancing all around the floor ............
New reality show ......... Dancing with the Republican Nominee