Trump Up, Bush and Walker Down in First Big Post-Debate Poll

If you thought Donald Trump’s boisterous debate performance and subsequent comments about Fox News’ Megyn Kelly might hurt his standing in the polls, you might be very wrong.

In the first major poll to be released since Thursday night’s debate, NBC News and Survey Monkey found Trump holding onto his first place position with 23% of the hypothetical vote. Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, who were each at 10% in the same survey a week earlier, both dropped three points to 7% each, tied for a disappointing fifth place.

Ted Cruz saw the biggest post-debate bump, up seven points to 13%, putting him second to Trump.Carly Fiorina saw a six point bump to reach 8%, her highest position in any national poll to date.

Ben Carson came in third place with 11% in NBC’s poll, while Marco Rubio was tied for fourth place with Fiorina at 8%. However, a margin of error at 3.4% helps put these shifts in a bit more perspective.

Fiorina was deemed the winner of debate night despite not appearing on the primetime stage, with 22% of respondents saying she did the best job. And while Trump came in second place in that contest with 18%, he also topped the list of candidates who did the worst job with 29%.

Given the surprising results, some are questioning the poll’s methodology. Unlike most major national polls, this one was conducted entirely online, using a national sample of 3,551 adults aged 18 and over who were “selected from the nearly three million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day.” NBC’s Chuck Todd has responded to those on Twitter who are hesitant to believe the results:

Via: Mediaite

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BEN SHAPIRO ON HOW TO WIN DEBATES WITH LIBERALS

Via: Breitbart

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The Budget Fight and Obama’s Vindictive Streak

The president thinks negotiating with his “ideological” opponents on the budget is beneath him. 

Shutting down the government in an effort to use a budget fight to get rid of Obamacare is not the strategy I would have recommended for the GOP. And while Republicans can be blamed for starting the shutdown, it’s increasingly apparent that President Obama and the Democrats deserve the lion’s share of blame for not only prolonging it but also making it as painful as possible.

Obama has always had a bit of a vindictive streak when it comes to politics. I think it stems from his Manichaean view of America. There are the reasonable people — who agree with him. And there are the bitter clingers who disagree for irrational or extremist ideological reasons.

In his various statements over the last week, he’s insisted that opponents of Obamacare are “ideologues” on an “ideological crusade.” Meanwhile, he cast himself as just a reasonable guy interested in solving America’s problems. I have no issue with him calling Republican opponents “ideologues” — they are — but since when is Obama not an ideologue?

The argument about Obamacare is objectively and irrefutably ideological on both sides — state-provided health care has been an ideological brass ring for the Left for well over a century. But much of the press takes its cues from Democrats and sees this fight — and most other political fights — as a contest pitting the forces of moderation, decency, and rationality against the ranks of the ideologically brainwashed.

What’s unusual is the way Obama sees the government as a tool for his ideological agenda. During the fight over the sequester, Obama ordered the government to make the 2 percent budget cut as painful and scary as possible.

“It’s going to be very painful for the flying public,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned Americans.

Via: National Review Online

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Fox News Has Highest Telecast Ever with Final Presidential Debate

NBC was the most-watched network for the final presidential debate last night with 12.391 million viewers tuning in. ABC was next with 11.730 million, according to Nielsen Fast National numbers. But the 11.474 million that watched on Fox News were enough to give the network its most-watched telecast ever. Fox News’s previous record was set in 2008 when VP nominees Gov. Sara Palin and Sen. Joe Biden debated. On that night 11.098 million watched. Fox News also topped CBS and beat the combined viewership of MSNBC and CNN.

On the three cable and three broadcast networks the debate was watched by 53.9 million people. The total will likely be down from the two previous debates when all networks are added up. The candidates faced stiff competition from Monday Night Football on ESPN (10.66 million viewers) and Game 7 of the NLCS on FOX (8.1 million viewers).

• Broadcast Fast Nationals 9-10:34pm:

NBC: 12,391,341 in total viewers / 5,839,648 in 25-54
ABC: 11,730,247 in total viewers / 4,361,952 in 25-54
CBS: 8,437,098 in total viewers / 3,564,135 in 25-54

• Broadcast post-Debate analysis 10:34-11pm

NBC: 9.327 million total viewers / 3.6 rating in 25-54
ABC: 8.052 million total viewers /2.6 rating in 25-54
CBS: 6.167 million total viewers / 2.3 rating in 25-54

• Cable coverage 9:00-10:30pm:

FNC: 11,474,835 in total viewers  /3,433,142 in 25-54
CNN: 5,808,405 in total viewers  /2,475,772 in 25-54
MSNBC: 4,063,673 in total viewers / 1,701,793 in 25-54

• Cable primetime 8:00-11:00pm

FNC: 9,068,124 in total viewers / 2,586,259 in 25-54
CNN: 4,374,775 in total viewers / 1,833,421 in 25-54
MSNBC: 3,295,125 in total viewers / 1,345,369 in 25-54

• First 2012 Debate: 67.2 million
• 2012 VP Debate: 51.4 million
• Second 2012 Debate: 65.6 million
• Third 2012 Debate: 59.2 million

Via: TVNewser

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Massachusetts Congressional Race 6th District: Gambling question torches Tierney-Tisei debate

John Tierney

Richard Tisei

NEWTON — It took mere seconds of airtime for moderator Jim Braude of NECN to ask about the gambling scandal plaguing Congressman, and the gloves were tossed to the mat Thursday night in a primetime television debate.

Republican opponent Richard Tisei pounced on the question — the first asked directly about Tierney’s family in four debates to date.

“He said he had no knowledge of what was going on, but both of his brothers-in-law contradicted him and said he did know what was going on,” Tisei said, referring to the multimillion-dollar offshore gambling scheme that Tierney’s brothers-in-law were running in Antigua.

Tisei then hammered the congressman on his trip to Antigua to visit brother-in-law Robert Eremian, “in the middle of the gambling operation,” as well as the reported $220,000 in gifts the congressman’s wife, Patrice Tierney, received from her now-fugitive brother when she managed a multimillion-dollar account for him in Salem.

“I do think there should be a congressional investigation,” Tisei said when asked if Tierney did anything illegal.

The congressman, who has been hounded by the scandal since his wife was charged with filing faulty tax returns for her brother in 2010, responded sternly.

“My two brothers-in-law didn’t say that, when the (Boston) Globe went down to visit my brother-in-law down there, he had nothing to offer them in terms of that,” Tierney said. When confronted that one of his brothers in-law, Daniel Eremian, told a Salem News reporter that Tierney “knew everything” about the operation, the congressman replied, “You can take his word, or you can take mine.”

As he has throughout the campaign, Tierney noted that the judge in his wife’s case — in which she pleaded guilty to being “willfully blind” to the true nature of her brother’s operation — indicated at one point that Tierney is “‘not implicated in any way, shape or form,’ and he’s right on this,” Tierney said.

Tisei challenged that claim, saying that Judge William Young “never cleared you of anything.”

“Judge Young said the congressman has nothing to do with this, meaning the sentencing hearing,” Tisei said. “He wasn’t looking at the whole thing.” He noted several news organizations who have called Tierney’s use of the judge’s quote “misleading.”

Tierney again went on the offensive.

“Misleading? Richard, you have lied and used insinuation and innuendo on this whole thing and spent $3 million doing it,” Tierney said. “My wife paid a terrible price on that; she took responsibility for not knowing on that.

Via: Gloucester Times

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IOWA, VIRGINIA GOVS: OBAMA OFFERED NO VISION FOR SECOND TERM IN DEBATE

Republican governors in Iowa and Virginia said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama failed to present his vision for a second term in his debate against Mitt Romney, echoing the concerns of undecided voters who thought the same after the debate. 

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Romney “explained with crystal clarity the difference between him and the President, and nowhere was that difference more stark than on the issue of the national debt.” Branstad noted that Obama “has racked up $5.5 trillion in national debt that will take years to pay off.”

“At the debate, the President reiterated that nothing will change about his policies in the next four years, ensuring that the debt will pile higher and generations to come will pay the price,” Branstad asserted. “That’s a legacy we don’t want to leave.”

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell stated Romney “reinforced the clear choice facing the American people” on jobs, taxes, debt, healthcare or foreign policy. 

He lamented Obama’s “tax-hiking, government-growing record” has “failed to turn around our economy or increase our nation’s influence around the world.”

“Americans know that we can’t afford another four years like the last four years, and tonight’s debate confirmed that Mitt Romney is the leader we need to deliver the change that Americans expect and deserve,” McDonnell continued. 

After Obama’s lackluster first debate against Romney, even progressive journalists said it was not not just good enough for Obama to attempt to tear down Romney. Those like NBC’s David Gregory and Chuck Todd said Obama now needed to present a clear vision for what his second term would be. 

And according to Messrs. Branstand and McDonnell, Obama did not even come close to reassuring the country that he had a vision to turn the country's economy around if he wins a second term. 

Via: Breitbart

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Romney: Obama ‘Running on Fumes'

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Fresh off his more animated debate performance, President Obama joked Wednesday that he is still trying to get the hang of the face-to-face showdowns with Mitt Romney, even as the Republican nominee said Mr. Obama appears to be “running on fumes” in the run-up to Nov. 6.

Continuing the fierce line of attack he began Tuesday night, Mr. Obama told a rally in Iowa that Mr. Romney’s tax plans for the country are too “sketchy” for voters to risk putting him in the White House.

“Gov. Romney has been running around talking about his five-point plan for the economy for quite some time. And as I pointed out last night, and you guys heard yourselves, it’s really a one-point plan. … It says folks at the very top can play by their own set of rules,” Mr. Obama said, playing to big crowds in Iowa and later in Ohio, where 14,000 turned out to see him.

He and Mr. Romney picked up right where they left off in Tuesday’s town-hall-style debate, trading barbs on who would be worse for women over the next four years — Mr. Obama said the Republican would threaten access to contraception, abortion and women’s health care, while Mr. Romney said the president has ruined women’s economic prospects — and on energy and taxes.

Instant polls suggested Mr. Obama won Tuesday’s debate, though not by the overwhelming margins Mr. Romney notched in their Oct. 3 debate in Denver, which helped reset the race and propel the Republican to a lead in national polling.

Enlarge Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney walks Oct. 17, 2012, with comedian Dennis ... more >

Democrats were energized by the president’s debate performance, praising him for finally taking a hard line against Mr. Romney.

But the Obama campaign is still struggling to reset the post-Oct. 3 debate storyline that it is struggling in some of the key states.

Via: Washington Times

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Obama, Romney turn up the tension in second presidential debate

President Obama and Mitt Romney tangled in the opening moments of their second debate on the economy, taxes and energy – as the president tried to make up for lost ground in the wake of his opening debate performance.

The president was decidedly more aggressive Tuesday as the debate at Hofstra University in New York got under way.

He mocked Romney’s five-point economic plan and referenced Romney’s tenure at private equity firm Bain Capital.

“Governor Romney says he’s got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn’t have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules,” Obama said. “That’s been his philosophy in the private sector. That’s been his philosophy as a governor. And that’s been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.”

Romney called Obama’s assessment “way off the mark.”

While Obama said Romney’s policies are “squeezing middle-class families,” the Republican nominee claimed president’s policies were doing the same.

“The president’s policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven’t put Americans back to work,” Romney said.

The two candidates frequently interrupted each other, in what was turning out to be a feistier face-off than the first round.

The stakes for Round 2 were high. Since Obama’s lackluster debate debut on Oct. 3, a succession of national and battleground polls has shown Romney gaining and in some cases surpassing Obama.

Via: Fox News

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Convicted Terrorist Scheduled to Speak Before Presidential Debate

Convicted terrorist scheduled to speak Tuesday night before presidential debate

BY MATTHEW BOYLE

A convicted terrorist released from federal prison in December 2008 is scheduled to speak in Hofstra University’s “public area” outside Tuesday’s presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, The Daily Caller has learned.

Andrew Stepanian, a felon who went to prison for animal enterprise terrorism, appears on Hofstra University’s published schedule at 8:00 p.m., during the hour before the debate begins. Stepanian runs The Sparrow Project, a left-wing PR project whose website indicates connections with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Stepanian, an ardent animal rights activist, was convicted in 2006 of terrorism stemming from a criminal conspiracy to target a company that tested medications on laboratory animals. He received a three-year sentence for his activities on behalf of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC).

Via: Weekly Standard

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Romney Smokes Obama In Pre-Debate Coin Tosses

AP

HOFSTRA DEBATE DETAILS AND ORDER

1) Staging -Romney won the toss.  Romney will enter and remain stage right, camera left.  Obama will enter and remain stage left, camera right.

2) Order of candidate introductions - The Romney campaign lost the coin toss.  Obama will be introduced first.  Romney will be introduced second.  The campaigns will advise on exact wording of candidate introduction.

3) Order of questioning- Obama loses toss.  Romney will take the first question. Obama will take the second question.

4) Closing statements -There will be no closing statements at this debate.

5)  Spouses' order of introduction- Romney wins toss, Mrs. Romney will be introduced first.  Mrs. Obama will be introduced second.  The campaigns will advise on exact wording of introductions.

Via: Fox News

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Obama At Intense ‘Debate Camp’ At Virginia Golf Resort

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — With the White House race barreling toward the finish, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were staying out of the spotlight Monday, underscoring the intense focus each campaign is placing on the second presidential debate.

Obama’s campaign, seeking to rebound from a dismal first debate, promised a more energetic president would take the stage Tuesday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Romney’s team aimed to build on a commanding opening debate that gave the Republican new life in a White House race that had once appeared to be slipping away from him.

When the two candidates step back into the public eye at the debate, there will be exactly three weeks left until Election Day. But early voting is already underway in dozens of states, including some battlegrounds, giving the candidates little time to recover from any slipups.

Pres. Obama and Gov. Romney on the issues: Weigh in on the Presidential Forum
Much of the pressure in the coming debate will be on Obama, who aides acknowledge showed up at the first face-off with less practice — and far less energy — than they had wanted. The president and a team of advisers are seeking to regain focus with an intense, three-day “debate camp” at a golf resort in Williamsburg, Va.

“It is going great,” Obama said of his preparations Sunday, while taking a brief break to greet volunteers at a nearby campaign office.

Via: CBS DC

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WHILE OBAMA CRAMS, ROMNEY CAMPAIGNS

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan are campaigning through Ohio and other critical swing states while President Barack Obama crams for the second presidential debate on Tuesday. Yesterday, Romney addressed a crowd of 11,000 supporters in Lebanon, Ohio, just one of the many large crowds he has been drawing across the state in recent days. 

Meanwhile, Obama, who was criticized for not preparing enough for the first presidential debate on Oct. 3, is parked at a golf resort in Virginia to practice.

Romney is practicing, too, for the second debate, which will be held at Hofstra University near New York City on Tuesday, though he is squeezing debate preparation into his daily campaign schedule. 

Romney has the added benefit of having devoted more time to debate practice already over the past several weeks. He has also spend more time in the kind of town hall setting that will be used in Tuesday's debate. And he has less to prove, having won what both sides agree was a clear victory in the first debate. while Obama has ground to make up.

Obama has not made any apparent adjustments to his debate team, and is still using 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry as a stand-in for Romney, despite earlier criticism by the Obama campaign of Kerry's performance as a sparring partner. Obama has also indicated that he would be less "polite" than he had been at the first debate. Democrats believe that Romney won by dominating the discussion, though Obama spoke for longer than Romney and moderator Jim Lehrer interrupted Romney more often. Vice President Joe Biden cheered Democrats with an aggressive performance in his Oct. 11 debate with Rep. Paul Ryan, and Obama may follow his lead.

However, the extra time that Obama is devoting to debate practice during a critical late stage of the campaign may cost him crucial opportunities to interact with voters, even as Romney builds a lead in swing states. Early voting has already started in Ohio, for instance, and Romney's appearances there this weekend have lent an additional sense of momentum to his campaign. 

Via: Breitbart

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Obama crams for debate, Romney claims momentum

AFP - President Barack Obama headed to a Virginia hotel for debate camp Saturday on a mission to transform his re-election pitch after his tame first clash with Mitt Romney hammered his poll ratings.

Obama planned four days of cramming at the resort at the historic colonial city of Williamsburg, ahead of Tuesday's crucial second debate against his Republican opponent with the November 6 election on a knife edge.

The president has seen Romney take the lead in national polls and eat deep into his prior advantage in battleground state surveys since the Republican's clear victory in Denver 10 days ago, imperiling his hopes of a second term.

Obama's aides have declined to say how the president will change his approach in the second debate, which takes place at Hofstra University, New York, but there have been signs of an evolving strategy.

Since the Denver showdown, Obama has unveiled a snappier stump speech, and criticized Romney for an "extreme makeover" of conservative positions and over a secretly filmed tape of him decrying half of Americans to rich donors.

Mystified Democrats sharply criticized Obama for not taking a similar tack during a lethargic and unfocused performance in the first debate.

Vice President Joe Biden prosecuted a more forensic attack on Romney when he met the Republican's vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, in their debate on Thursday, a showing that cheered Democrats dismayed by Obama's performance.

But Romney's team senses growing momentum across the board, including what may turn out to be the crucial swing state of Ohio, which Democrats see as a firewall for Obama, and which has been decisive in numerous US elections.

"There's a growing crescendo of enthusiasm," Romney said in a raucous event in Ohio on Friday evening.

"People recognize this is not an ordinary campaign. This is a critical time for the country.

Via: France24

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BIDEN GRUNTS, GUFFAWS, SMIRKS AND BULLIES HIS WAY THROUGH VP DEBATE

Did Joe Biden bring in Al Gore as his debate coach? Did he review the tape from the Bush-Gore debate in 2000 and think obnoxious interruptions and smirks on questions of national security are the way to move voters? He sighed. He broke into Ryan's answers. He chortled. His actual answers were the least of his problems. His tone and demeanor were beneath the office he currently holds. 

Paul Ryan was fine. And, I mean that in the most literal use of the term. A snap CNN poll found that Ryan won the debate, 48-44. It wasn't the decisive mauling that Romney delivered to Obama, but it was enough to sustain Romney's momentum. At times, I wished Ryan had been more aggressive in defending his time to speak. Biden left some whoppers on the table that went unanswered. 

That said, Ryan gave forceful, passionate answers to several questions and his closing was especially strong. He had a firm command of the situation in Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. Most voters only know him as a budget guy, so his command of these issues was probably a pleasant surprise. There was nothing in his performance that would suggest he wasn't up to the job of being Vice-President. 

Biden though, was beneath his office. He clearly carried the weight of the campaign's recent stumbles on his shoulder. In the first hour, he acted like a man would had downed a six-pack of Red Bull before taking the stage. By the debate's end, the sugar rush had clearly worn off and his speech was much slower and more deliberate. The frenetic pace is better for him, because you can't pay as much attention to each word he says. As he slows up, the utter absurdity of what he's saying becomes more clear. 

Both Biden and Ryan had decent moments. In the end, Biden lost for two reasons. Ryan came off as an earnest and utterly reasonable person, with substantive ideas on a range of issues. He was likable. Biden's biggest problem, though, was his tone. He was rude, abusive and dismissive. He repeatedly smirked while Ryan was prosecuting the Administration's missteps in Libya. Smirking should be the furthest thing from anyone's mind when four Americans have been murdered. 

Via: Breitbart

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Morning Bell: 10 Questions for the Vice Presidential Debate

Tonight’s debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan is supposed to cover both domestic and foreign policy. The Heritage Foundation’s policy experts have submitted 10 questions they would like to see asked in the debate.

Watch with us tonight—we will be streaming the debate live at 9 p.m. ET on our Debate 2012 page, with an experts’ live blog.

DOMESTIC POLICY

1. Obamacare takes $716 billion out of Medicare to fund Obamacare. This includes $156 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage. Currently, 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which is a private alternative to traditional Medicare. The Medicare Chief Actuary projects that by 2017, Obamacare’s severe cuts will decrease enrollment in Medicare Advantage by 50 percent and result in less generous benefit packages for those who do remain in the program. What changes would you make, if any, to ensure that these seniors are able to keep their current Medicare Advantage plan?

2. Patient choice is working well within Medicare and other government health programs. In addition to the private plans in Medicare Advantage, there are 1,100 plans in the Medicare drug program and hundreds of plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. None of these plans use “vouchers”; they receive a direct government contribution toward the cost of the plans. Would you expand patient choice in Medicare? Why or why not?

3. Most people under the age of 40 will pay more in Social Security taxes than they will receive in benefits, and Medicare adds to federal deficits faster than any other government spending program. How would you focus entitlement reform on reducing spending?

4. Under Obamacare, the Health and Human Services (HHS) preventive services mandate requires nearly all employers to cover abortion drugs and contraception regardless of religious or moral objection, effectively exempting only formal houses of worship. Should Americans be able to live out their faith commitments outside the four walls of their church—in the public square and in the way they run their businesses or non-profits?

5. It has been almost four years since the federal government took control of General Motors. Vice President Biden has said the bailout of the firm was a success. Was this a success? Why or why not? And when should the federal government sell the shares it still owns?

VP debate: An epic non-event?

Tomorrow night, the American electorate will watch another in a series of four debates intended to help voters decide who should be the next President.  In this event, however, neither presidential candidate will be present.  Instead, the two running mates will discuss and debate policies and issues on national television for 90 minutes.  While that will no doubt provide much entertainment for the pundit class, will it move the needle for the election?

Politico’s Jonathan Martin thinks it might:

Vice presidential debates typically matter as much as vice presidential picks — which is to say not a lot — but a convergence of factors is raising the stakes on this week’s faceoff between Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden.

Looming most heavy over the clash in Kentucky is President Barack Obama’s remarkably weak debate performance last week, a showing that has given Republicans their first sense of hope in weeks and increased the pressure on Biden to get Democrats back on course. …

If “Gentleman Joe” took the stage four years ago, determined not to come off as patronizing or bullying Sarah Palin, it seems almost certain that Thursday will bring the appearance of “Scranton Joe,” the scrappy pol who’s never been afraid to throw a punch.

That’s probably true, although we’re a lot more likely to see Gaffemaster Joe, too — the one who helpfully explained that the middle class had been “buried the last four years,” while he and his boss occupied the White House.  Ramesh Ponnuru notes that while mainly discounting its impact, but predicts a walkover for Paul Ryan anyway:

The Democratic reaction to Obama’s debate loss may also point Biden in the wrong direction. Among liberals — and among some Democratic strategists, too — the prevailing view is that Obama lost because he didn’t call Romney on his outrageous lies, and especially because he didn’t draw a stark contrast on Medicare and Social Security. Obama even said the two candidates had a “similar position” on the second program. Democrats will be urging Biden to be more combative.

The vice president isn’t above demagogic attacks: In his convention speech, for example, he claimed “experts” had said that one of Romney’s tax proposals would create 800,000 jobs, “all of them overseas, all of them.” In fact, Biden was referring to a study by one expert, and it didn’t say what he claimed: It estimated 800,000 jobs would be created overseas, but it didn’t examine the impact domestically. Yet Biden also likes to be liked, and has tended to take his hardest shots before partisan audiences rather than in front of the Republicans he is criticizing.

And the consensus Democratic view that Obama was too passive and disengaged probably misunderstands why he lost the debate. The real problem was that he was less up to speed on the arguments and counterarguments than Romney was. If Biden internalizes the Democratic conventional wisdom, he will be more engaged than Obama was — but it won’t help unless he is also better informed. An amped-up yet inadequate response can come across as bluster.

Via: Hot Air

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Ouch: Ann Romney Compares Obama To A Petulant Child For His Post-Debate Temper Tantrum…

Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, equated President Obama's campaign to a petulant child during an interview Tuesday after being asked about charges from the president's campaign that her husband had "lied" during last week's debate.

“I mean, lied about what? This is something he’s been saying all along. This is what he believes.  This is his policy, these are his statements," Ann Romney said in an interview set to air Wednesday on Fox News. "I mean, lie — it’s sort of like someone that’s, you know, in the sandbox that like lost the game and they’re just going to kick sand in someone’s face and say, ‘you liar.’ I mean, it’s like they lost, and so now they just are going to say, OK, the game, we didn’t like the game. So to me, it’s poor sportsmanship.”

In an interview Sunday with CBS News, Obama adviser David Axelrod said Romney's debate positions were "uprooted" from what he had said on the campaign trail.

"I think [the president] was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which Gov. Romney walked away from so many of the positions on which he's run, walked away from his record,” Axelrod said.

Ann Romney said she "knew right away" that her husband was winning the first presidential debate.

"I knew after the first question," she said. "I turned to my son after 50 minutes, and I gave him a nudge, and I said it’s 100 to zero right now. "

She added that she hoped his performance would attract the support of more female voters, a crucial demographic headed into Election Day and one that the president has thus far dominated.

"I had been waiting for a very, very long time for people to see my husband how I see him. And I think that people got a chance to do that at the debate," Ann Romney said.

Via: The Hill

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Byron York Column: Liberals Fret: Is Obama Bored? Does He Want A Second Term? Maybe Not

There’s no doubt President Obama’s liberal supporters are worried by his lackluster performance in the Denver debate.  “Everyone is in shock,” one show-business liberal told the Hollywood reporter.  “No one can understand what happened.”  The Obama faithful are offering the White House advice, talking points, pep talks — anything to improve the president’s performance when he next faces Mitt Romney at Hofstra University on October 16.

But for some liberal writers, the concern goes deeper.  Perhaps Obama’s somewhat withdrawn demeanor at the debate was an indication that he doesn’t even want a second term as president.

On the morning after the debate, The Atlantic ran an analysis headlined, “Snippy Obama, Whose Heart’s Not In It.”  Writer Garance Franke-Ruta suggested that Obama, as an unusually sensitive man, has been worn down by the presidency’s demands of conducting war in Afghanistan and dealing with crises like the murder of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya.  “His supporters keep wanting Obama to be who he was in 2008,” Franke-Ruta wrote.  “But that’s not who he is anymore.” Obama’s old enthusiasm for the job is simply gone.

Now, in the Daily Beast, liberal writer Michael Tomasky asks, “Does Obama Even Want to Win the Election?”  After poor Obama showings at the debate, the Democratic convention, and a high-profile “60 Minutes” interview, Tomasky writes, “Someone needs to ask the cut-to-the-chase question: is he enthusiastic about keeping this job, or he is just maybe tired of being president?”

Perhaps he is.  If so, there were certainly signs long before Wednesday night in Denver.  A look at the president’s career shows he has never stayed in a job four years without looking to move on to something.

Via: Washington Examiner

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