The GOP better enjoy it while it lasts....

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

[LiberalJunkie]

Yep exactly. Just because he won the debate doesn't mean he won't make another gaffe.

[NHI]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

All true and I agree that Obama will be better prepared, but he is no Ronald Reagan.

[King]

I hope the next debate, the moderator lets them go.  If they had gone the full length just answering and responding to their points on the first question, frankly, it would have been better.  The debate took a turn for the worse when Lehrer tried to reel them back into Q&A.  The first question was the only important one and it encompassed everything they talked about in the other questions.

Seeing Presidential candidates argue one-on-one is something we don't get any of and we need.

[J. J.]

I think that we all should remember that a potential round two will be here in less than 36 hours; the September jobs number will be released.

[Wisconsin+17]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

And Obama is no Reagan.

[Politico]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

All true and I agree that Obama will be better prepared, but he is no Ronald Reagan.

Yeah, all Reagan had to do in his second debate was prove that he was not too old. His opening joke took care of it.

In contrast, Obama has to somehow manage to convince people that the Romney they saw tonight was not the real Romney, and that the Monster Romney they've been talking about in their ads/talking points is the real Romney. Good luck!

[5280]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

All true and I agree that Obama will be better prepared, but he is no Ronald Reagan.

Yeah, all Reagan had to do in his second debate was prove that he was not too old. His opening joke took care of it.

In contrast, Obama has to somehow manage to convince people that the Romney they saw tonight was not the real Romney, and that the Monster Romney they've been talking about in their ads/talking points is the real Romney. Good luck!

If Romney is gaffe free in the next two debates, then he's sealed the deal.

[tmthforu94]

Democrats whined and moaned when Republicans used the "Reagan trailed Carter by double-digits in 1980" argument, yet now Democrats are using another Reagan moment, "Reagan lost his first debate and still won in a landslide." Love it.

[bgwah]

Democrats whined and moaned when Republicans used the "Reagan trailed Carter by double-digits in 1980" argument, yet now Democrats are using another Reagan moment, "Reagan lost his first debate and still won in a landslide." Love it.

Haha. No. A lot of Republicans implied Carter led all the way through September to excuse Romney's polling. Which is factually incorrect, as Reagan led all summer.

[Politico]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

All true and I agree that Obama will be better prepared, but he is no Ronald Reagan.

Yeah, all Reagan had to do in his second debate was prove that he was not too old. His opening joke took care of it.

In contrast, Obama has to somehow manage to convince people that the Romney they saw tonight was not the real Romney, and that the Monster Romney they've been talking about in their ads/talking points is the real Romney. Good luck!

If Romney is gaffe free in the next two debates, then he's sealed the deal.

Mark my words: The toughest challenge is going to be the town hall format. Do not put it past the media planting an audience member with a hidden agenda, and an inability to let Romney speak (e.g., they'll keep repeating their moronic question as Romney tries to explain).

[Brittain33]

I think that we all should remember that a potential round two will be here in less than 36 hours; the September jobs number will be released.

What's your take on Round two?

[wilji1090]

I tend to think the Reagan-Mondale debates were pretty accurate for what happened on Wednesday. If you recall, their first debate, Mondale was capable of dancing circles around Reagan in the first debate. Yet, Reagan crushed Mondale in the election. Reagan and Obama both share some form of charisma and both have their fair share of critics.

I mean compare a question to Reagan about some "secret plan" to balance the budget to how Obama asked if Romney's plan was secret because it was "too good." I might be making a leap beyond the skills of Evel Knievel, but all the same. I think honestly, if there's one thing that is true, Obama will be better prepared for the Town Hall debate and Romney is no fool either, he won't underestimate Obama.

But what the Town Hall debates need to do is have people ask questions to challenge BOTH candidates on their talking points. But that's just my desire for government accountability, sort of how President Truman stated "The Buck Stops Here."

[Northeast Rep Snowball]

Yes, but last I checked losing a debate doesn't help a candidate, yes Obama probably can turn this around, but I think people are more optomistic now that he lost the first debate, which is odd.

[J. J.]

Democrats whined and moaned when Republicans used the "Reagan trailed Carter by double-digits in 1980" argument, yet now Democrats are using another Reagan moment, "Reagan lost his first debate and still won in a landslide." Love it.

Haha. No. A lot of Republicans implied Carter led all the way through September to excuse Romney's polling. Which is factually incorrect, as Reagan led all summer.

Actually, Carter led or was tied from mid-August through October 25 in 1980; Carter also lead in mid June (Asher, Presidential Elections and American Politics, 3rd ed., 1984, p. 161).  That was after the DNC.  CBS noted the same thing, dealing with the shift being in late October.

[opebo]

Mark my words: Do not put it past the media planting an audience member with a hidden agenda, and an inability to let Romney speak (e.g., they'll keep repeating their moronic question as Romney tries to explain).

Christ I hope so.  We need to be pulling out all the stops - it would be tragic if this utter fool got in and got to take credit for the recovery next year, which is already baked into the cake who ever is president.

[pbrower2a]

The GOP better enjoy it because tonight will be the only time they hear or see "Obama loses" because he will come back in the next debates.  Reagan lost his reelection debate.

All true and I agree that Obama will be better prepared, but he is no Ronald Reagan.

Yeah, all Reagan had to do in his second debate was prove that he was not too old. His opening joke took care of it.

In contrast, Obama has to somehow manage to convince people that the Romney they saw tonight was not the real Romney, and that the Monster Romney they've been talking about in their ads/talking points is the real Romney. Good luck!

If Romney is gaffe free in the next two debates, then he's sealed the deal.

He made some demonstrable falsehoods. Just because he got away with them during the debate does not mean that they won;t be used against him in Obama advertising.