The thing that's going to hurt Pres. Obama (and the poll numbers) is the media spin.

[jezebel]

I watched the debate and yes I wished the Pres. was more aggressive in taking on Romney's lies. But I honestly thought at the end it was a draw.

But the media spin (and now amplified by these post debate snap polls) is going to be hard against the President but more importantly PRO Romney the next few days.

That in itself will feed the new narrative that the press has been desperately wanting. Romney is acceptable now we will hear. People will take a new look at him we will hear. It's going to become a self fulfilling prophecy.

And while I know lying isn't the answer, all the Chris Mathews etc. wailing and crying will feed that narrative.

It's depressing.

[still_one]

1. no, the media doesn't blow things out of proportion. Just look at what they did to Howard Dean /n

[flamingdem]

2. reminds me of the other times he wailed

and then lived to regret it

[bemildred]

3. That is all empty babble.

It means nothing, and that debate didn't mean much either.

[budkin]

4. Poll numbers will barely change...

Debates are for show

[grasswire]

5. yep, absolutely

I thought they were immature and unprofessional tonight.

Particularly Ed and Tweety.

I might cut Tweety a little slack because he looked sick; coming down with a cold.

The right is going over the rainbow about their reactions.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Ed was pathetic.

I was very disappointed in his hyperventilating.

[Lisa D]

6. The media was going to spin it for Romney no matter what.

They want--need--a horse race. That's what keeps viewers tuning in. They hyped up the debate as much as possible as a game-changer, and then when Romney didn't pee himself, they declared him the winner.

But does anyone actually like him now? Does his bully act win voters? The man was all over the place and twitchy as hell.

I agree with you, jezebel, and I was depressed at first because I wanted Obama to deliver a knock-out punch. But I think we're going to see the media spin turn around in the coming days--it's already starting.

Who is the real Mitt Romney and what does he believe? After all this time, no one is able answer that question.

[Summer Hathaway]

11. ...

[6000eliot]

7. You don't get to be elected the first Black president without some political savvy.

Clam down. I trust the president.

[vanlassie]

9. Mittens will do something stupid shortly. He

Has a track record in that department. And seriously, just because WE watch MSNBC, trust me, the average voter is not watching half as closely as we are.

[fearnobush]

10. The MSM wanted Mitt's corporate doners to stay in the race. They now will capitulate to keep Obama's

Amd they will desporately try to keep this race with in two points. If Obama's numbers tank this week. They will come roaring back to him. it's a sad money game.

[RichGirl]

12. I'm disappointed in them...especially msnbc....

It was a debate, not a wrestling match. They were totally focused on performance as appose to content. Obama is the president...he's suppose to show some class. Seems like they expected him to go at Romney as if he were an attack ad.

I hope they go back and rewatch the debate or read the transcript.

[Summer Hathaway]

13. We all knew going in

that the MSM was going to declare this debate as a win for Romney, a real "game-changer".

They need a horserace to keep their viewers. They'll spend the next few days talking about how the race is tightening, yadda yadda.

But in the end, nobody's mind was changed tonight. The numbers are what they are. And Mitt isn't any closer to a win than he was last night, or the night before that, or the night before that.

[madamesilverspurs]

14. Hell's bells.

For whatever reason, our watch party tuned in to CNN.

Before the debate even started, their whole cast was going negative on Obama. I asked the other attendees if they were seeing what I was seeing, one of the guys even asked if we were watching Fox. There was no way they were going to start like that and then finish with anything positive for Obama.

I got home and turned on MSNBC in time to hear Howard Fineman assert that Jim Lehrer failed as moderator. Can't say as I disagree, seeing as how he let Romney take over just a few minutes in. Romney ran the thing until the last five minutes. Sad.


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