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| DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 03: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shake hands at the end of the Presidential Debate at the University of Denver as moderator Jim Lehrer looks on on October 3, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The first of four debates for the 2012 Election, three Presidential and one Vice Presidential, is moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer and focuses on domestic issues: the economy, health care, and the role of government. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) |
Romney has had plenty of experience in the last few months debating other Republican candidates, and it showed. The President seemed a little rusty, an indication that being an incumbent does have its disadvantages. Though he did win points for talking directly to the camera on occasion.
In the ninety minutes (or so) that were allotted, moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS tried to keep things on track and on schedule. But both men kept talking and talking on the same topics for so long that Lehrer seemed to lose control for a time.
Both Romney and the President revisited familiar arguments when it came to their policies on taxes and health care, for which sharp divisions were noted. Romney reverted to form when he could not come up with how he would replace tax reform and "Obamacare", or telling Lehrer to his face about how he would cut funding for PBS (beyond Big Bird, of course). Obama was also short on details in some areas, but even he was starting to call his health care plan "Obamacare".
Romney needed to do well in this debate because he's trailing Obama in some of the national polls by slim margins, even in the "battleground" states. He delivered, sort of, on what could be his last, best chance to overtake the President before the voters decide November 6. But he still has a lot of work to do.
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