Ok

[หมูเด้ง]

I didn't watch it. I want your opinion.

[Sam Spade]

I didn't watch either.  So I have no opinion.

The generic forum answer will be Obama, however.

[Reaganfan]

I didn't watch either.  So I have no opinion.

The generic forum answer will be Obama, however.

I agree Obama will win this poll overwhelmingly.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Obama: Hillary failed to score a knockout blow, he was able to publicly denounce Farrakhan (which he's done before btw) and reject his support, and held his own on the issues.

Also, Hillary came across looking like a bitch with the  "maybe you should ask him if he wants a pillow" remark.

[NHPolitico]

Obama keeps winning these debates because he keeps not scaring people from voting for him. He comes off as likable and presidential, and, thus, acceptable.  His response to the Hillary mocking him clip was perfect, just perfect.  He didn't even try to say that the point of her mocking-- that Obama says that change will happen by magic and not by hard work-- is actually totally false, demonstrably so using clips of his speeches where he says that it won't be easy. He could have tried to defend himself, but he just laughed it off, brushed her aside like some gnat.  Obama was projected early on as a central casting black guy as President, like David Palmer or Tom Beck, and those were high expectations he had to live up to, but he has done it.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Obama keeps winning these debates because he keeps not scaring people from voting for him. He comes off as likable and presidential, and, thus, acceptable.

And he never F's himself with some stupid statement or lets her get in a knockout punch.

[MODU]

I didn't watch it.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Obama keeps winning these debates because he keeps not scaring people from voting for him. He comes off as likable and presidential, and, thus, acceptable.

And he never F's himself with some stupid statement or lets her get in a knockout punch.

Obama, while he's definately not the best debator in the world, is better than people give him credit for. Plus I think the "uhs" and occaisionaly hesitancy go a long way towards showing that he really is human, rather than some polished poltical cyborg.

[TomC]

I don't think Obama won per se, but Clinton came off as petty on several occasions. She needed to win and didn't.

[Keystone Phil]

The generic forum answer will be Obama, however.

Obama could have stood up, slapped Hillary in the face and walked off the stage and this forum would say he won.

[JSojourner]

The generic forum answer will be Obama, however.

Obama could have stood up, slapped Hillary in the face and walked off the stage and this forum would say he won.

I wouldn't.  I think I have been nothing but fair in judging between the two and deciding among all the candidates.  I'm a Democrat and I am going with Obama because I like him better than Clinton.  Not because he's the flavor of the month.  LOL -- neither of the flavors taste as good to me as Dodd, Biden or even Edwards.  So what's a Democrat to do? 

[© tweed]

the first debate Obama actually "won" as opposed to simply "winning by not losing" IMO

[NHPolitico]

Obama keeps winning these debates because he keeps not scaring people from voting for him. He comes off as likable and presidential, and, thus, acceptable.

And he never F's himself with some stupid statement or lets her get in a knockout punch.

Obama, while he's definately not the best debator in the world, is better than people give him credit for. Plus I think the "uhs" and occaisionaly hesitancy go a long way towards showing that he really is human, rather than some polished poltical cyborg.

Obama doesn't say things like "is our children learning" and "fool me once, shame on ... shame on you. It fool me. We can't get fooled again."  There aren't any WTF moments. People don't mind slow, deliberate speaking. It sounds authoritative.

[John Dibble]

Obama won by a fair margin, though it was not a decisive victory either. Admittedly it seemed that Hillary got many more questions that were inconvenient to her than he did. Whether that is due to MSNBC having a pro-Obama bias or her campaign providing so many opportunities for it is an entirely different issue - I'd say it's a bit of both. The tough questions that Obama did get he handled pretty well, and where he stumbled he managed to get back up and dust himself off.

Also working in Obama's favor was that Hillary seemed a bit stressed. Things aren't going as well as she'd like and it showed in how she spoke, gestured, etc. throughout the debate.

At worst for Obama it was a tie, and I reiterate from my commentary on the results of the last debate that anything less than a Clinton victory in these debates is good for him in the long run. A tie results in a battle of endurance, and since Obama has the momentum and probably a lot more campaign funds such a battle works in his favor.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I didn't watch it.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I didn't watch it.

[Alcon]

I don't understand why people feel the need to remind of the pro-Obama slant of this forum at the beginning of every topic.  What, we haven't been here for the last six months?  Whatever...

Obama did marginally better, thanks to a rather pro-Obama slant in the questions (a slant with some actual relevance to me).  She also lost the personality battle, although she improved at the end.  Policy questions seemed to be better for Obama at the beginning and Clinton at the end; overall, close enough to a draw.

If it was a tie at worst for Obama, as John said, he de facto won.

[Michael Z]

Obama keeps winning these debates because he keeps not scaring people from voting for him. He comes off as likable and presidential, and, thus, acceptable.  His response to the Hillary mocking him clip was perfect, just perfect.  He didn't even try to say that the point of her mocking-- that Obama says that change will happen by magic and not by hard work-- is actually totally false, demonstrably so using clips of his speeches where he says that it won't be easy. He could have tried to defend himself, but he just laughed it off, brushed her aside like some gnat.  Obama was projected early on as a central casting black guy as President, like David Palmer or Tom Beck, and those were high expectations he had to live up to, but he has done it.

I loved his reaction to the clip of Hillary mocking him and going on about celestial choirs and the skies opening - "Sounds good". Whatever Hillary throws at him, it seems to bounce straight off.

As for the debate itself, Obama won for a very simple reason - Hillary's got her back to the wall in this so she didn't just need to win the debate, she needed to deliver a total knockout blow, and she didn't. All Obama had to do was keep his cool and stay calm and not step out of line, and he delivered. So he won.