Who most benefited from the debate series?

[Cryptic]

Romney.  The first debate changed his perception among moderates and undecideds. While Obama/Biden won the following debates,  their wins didn't detract from the new image Romney garnered for himself.  It's given him an actual shot and something for his base to hope for.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Does the question even need to be asked? Romney went from a joke candidate to having about a 45% chance of winning on election day.

[King]

Romney easily.  If Obama had won the first debate, this election would probably be nearing O+10 nationally with Republicans spending their time trying to save the House.

[Likely Voter]

There is something going on with the tracking polls today. So far every one has shown an increase with Obama except Rasmussen. And Rasmussen actively weights their polls for Party ID (currently D+1) so the poll doesn't show shifts in enthusiasm. 

It might be an anomaly or statistical noise but with just one day of post Debate 3 polling there is a whiff that Obama may have won a tie-breaker. We will see if the trend continues. Even still Obama may never return to his +3 levels before Debate 1 so the net effect will still probably be that Romney benefited more from the series. But there is a chance that his benefit might be smaller than we first thought.

[Blazers93]

Though Romney's side only really won the first debate, that was the one that shifted all the momentum. No surprise it's 60-3 in this poll.