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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Live-Blogging The First Presidential Debate 2012 — 10.31 pm. Look: you know how much I love the guy, and you know how much of a high information viewer I am, and I can see the logic of some of Obama's meandering, weak, professorial arguments. But this was a disaster for the president …
Discussion:
Politico, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Democracy in America, Reuters, Wonkette, MareZilla.com, Althouse, American Spectator, The New Republic, Via Meadia, rubber hose, The Daily Beast, Sabato's Crystal Ball, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Gothamist, Infidel753, Mother Jones, Joe. My. God., Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Balloon Juice
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Jackie Koszczuk / NationalJournal.com:
Liberals Livid With Obama's Debate Performance — How bad was it for Obama Wednesday night? Even some of his biggest fans were livid that he let Mitt Romney walk away with a win, and they were not suffering in silence. — Within an hour of the debate ending, liberals and longtime Democratic operatives …
Discussion:
Politico, The Huffington Post and Election 2012
CNN:
CNN Poll: Most watchers say Romney debate winner — Denver, Colorado (CNN) - Two-thirds of people who watched the first presidential debate think that Republican nominee Mitt Romney won the showdown, according to a nationwide poll conducted Wednesday night.
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
It's Over — I've been watching presidential debates for quite a few years, but I have never seen one like this. It wasn't a TKO, it was a knockout. Mitt Romney was in control from the beginning. He was the alpha male, while Barack Obama was weak, hesitant, stuttering, often apologetic.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, CNN, American Spectator, Los Angeles Times, The Lonely Conservative, UTSanDiego.com, ABCNEWS, RedState, TBogg, The Moderate Voice, Politico and Whiskey Fire
BuzzFeed:
How Mitt Romney Won The First Debate — By standing on the stage with the president as an equal. — Image by Rick Wilking / Reuters — Mitt Romney, trailing in the polls, needed to prove tonight that he could stand on stage with President Barack Obama as an equal and a plausible president of the United States.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, the-reaction.blogspot.ca, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Scared Monkeys, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times, Taylor Marsh, Villainous Company, americanthinker.com, p m carpenter's commentary, Riehl World News, Poynter, Ballot Box, National Review, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, The Lonely Conservative, Sky Dancing, Liberal Values, The Atlantic Online, The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, his vorpal sword, American Power and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »
RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Chris Matthews Freaks Out At Obama: “What Was He Doing?” — “Tonight wasn't an MSNBC debate tonight, was it?” Chris Matthews said after the first Obama-Romney presidential debate concluded on Wednesday night. — “I don't know what he was doing out there. He had his head down, he was enduring the debate rather than fighting it.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Polls Show a Strong Debate for Romney — Instant-reaction polls conducted by CNN and CBS News suggest that Mitt Romney was the winner of the first presidential debate. — A CNN poll of debate-watchers found Mr. Romney very clearly ahead, with 67 percent of registered voters saying he won the debate …
CNN:
KitchenAid apologizes for tweet insulting Obama — (CNN) - The home appliance brand KitchenAid apologized Wednesday evening for a political tweet sent out from its official account during the presidential debate. — The tweet has been removed but at least a dozen retweets of the post showed it read …
Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
There Went the Boom — I've been getting more and more cautiously optimistic about Romney in the last few days and, going in, I had a pretty good feeling about tonight's debate. But I had no expectation that Romney would simply control the night the way he did.
Discussion:
American Power
Ellen Carmichael / Twitchy:
Undecided voters in focus group swing sharply toward Romney; Frank Luntz: 'I've never seen anything like this'; CBS post-debate poll shows big win for Romney … Tonight, pollster Frank Luntz assembled a focus group consisting of undecided Colorado voters. By the end of tonight's debate …
Discussion:
Villainous Company, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Michelle Malkin
CBS News:
Poll: Uncommitted voters say Romney wins debate — By a 2 to 1 margin, uncommitted voters crowned Mitt Romney the winner over President Obama in the first presidential debate in Debate, Colo., on Wednesday night, according to a 500-person instant poll taken by CBS News.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Reuters, News Desk and Jammie Wearing Fools
Dylan Byers / Politico:
Obama's Stephanie Cutter knocks Lehrer — DENVER, Colo. — Obama spokesperson Stephanie Cutter took a swipe at moderator Jim Lehrer's largely passive debate performance tonight, saying the PBS anchor had allowed Mitt Romney to act as the moderator. — “I sometimes wondered if we even needed …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Betsy's Page, The Lonely Conservative and American Power
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Romney wins; Update: CBS insta-poll shows decisive Romney victory; Update: Romney crushes Obama in CNN insta-poll
Romney wins; Update: CBS insta-poll shows decisive Romney victory; Update: Romney crushes Obama in CNN insta-poll
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, The Spectacle Blog, Bookworm Room and Say Anything
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Spin Room — I gather from brief glances at Twitter …
Spin Room — I gather from brief glances at Twitter …
Discussion:
The Impolitic and Politico
Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Dem Debate Meltdown: Stumbling Obama Surrogate Speaks Of ‘President Romney’
Dem Debate Meltdown: Stumbling Obama Surrogate Speaks Of ‘President Romney’
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and nation.foxnews.com
BuzzFeed:
Chris Matthews Unloads On Obama: “Where Was Obama Tonight...What Was He Doing?”
Chris Matthews Unloads On Obama: “Where Was Obama Tonight...What Was He Doing?”
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed, Scared Monkeys, The Moderate Voice and The PJ Tatler
Mike Flynn / BREITBART.COM:
POLITICO: ROMNEY UP 4 IN ‘TOSS UP’ STATES
POLITICO: ROMNEY UP 4 IN ‘TOSS UP’ STATES
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The PJ Tatler
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Team Obama struggles as Romney wins big
Team Obama struggles as Romney wins big
Discussion:
The Other McCain and Taegan Goddard's …
Reuters:
Mitt Romney wins a reprieve
Mitt Romney wins a reprieve
Discussion:
Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, Yahoo! News, NBC Politics, ABCNEWS and Politico
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Obama fails to mention Bain, ‘47 percent’
Obama fails to mention Bain, ‘47 percent’
Discussion:
CNN, Ballot Box, Politico, Weekly Standard and The Hill
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
CNN's Factcheck for the Ages — This was CNN's John Berman's quick factcheck on the dispute over whether Mitt Romney had anyway to pay for his $5 trillion tax cut for high income earners ... Romney says he'll find a unicorn. And if you take him at his word, the verdict is false.
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Maddow Blog and Election 2012
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Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
At Last Night's Debate: Romney Told 27 Myths In 38 Minutes — Pundits from both sides of the aisle have lauded Mitt Romney's strong debate performance, praising his preparedness and ability to challenge President Obama's policies and accomplishments. But Romney only accomplished this goal by repeatedly misleading viewers.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Michael Cooper / New York Times:
Check Point: A Closer Look at What the Presidential Candidates Said in the Debate
Check Point: A Closer Look at What the Presidential Candidates Said in the Debate
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Prairie Weather
Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Top Romney Adviser: States Will Have To Cover People With Pre-Existing Conditions Under President Romney — After the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Colorado on Wednesday night, one of Mitt Romney's top advisers acknowledged that, as a result Romney's plan to repeal Obamacare …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The New Republic, The Maddow Blog, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog, Blue Mass Group and Brad DeLong
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Paul Krugman:
Romney's Sick Joke — OK, so Obama did a terrible job in the debate, and Romney did well. But in the end, this isn't or shouldn't be about theater criticism, it should be about substance. And the fact is that everything Obama said was basically true, while much of what Romney …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Talking Points Memo
Boston Globe:
What did you think of the candidates' debate responses? — In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their first campaign debate Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard and Weasel Zippers
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Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
In Domestic Debate, Mitt Romney Shakes The Etch-a-Sketch
In Domestic Debate, Mitt Romney Shakes The Etch-a-Sketch
Discussion:
Forbes, Middle Earth Journal and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Debate ‘Cold’ Reaction: Yes, Romney Can Debate
Debate ‘Cold’ Reaction: Yes, Romney Can Debate
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, The Hinterland Gazette, Mr. Media Training, Los Angeles Times and The New Republic
Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
Despite Threats, U.S. Cut Security in Libya Before Attacks — Even as American outposts in Benghazi appeared to be at risk, the State Department trimmed the number of security guards on the ground. Eli Lake reports on the latest allegations. — In the six months leading up to the assault …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Mother Jones and The Daily Dish
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Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:
House panel: State Dept. confirmed Libya threats
House panel: State Dept. confirmed Libya threats
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Heritage Foundation and Wired