Mitt Romney went for the jugular in the first presidential debate last night, overwhelming a lacklustre President Barack Obama with a relentlessly forceful performance that could give a significant boost to his White House hopes.
Trailing by several points in the polls, the Republican challenger needed to put in a strong performance in the first presidential debate in Denver. He more than rose to the occasion with even some of Obama’s most dedicated supporters declaring him the clear winner.
From the outset, Mr Romney chided Mr Obama for promising to halve America’s annual deficit but instead doubling it and even compared him to a little boy who can’t tell the truth.

‘Look, I’ve got five boys,' he said. 'I’m used to people saying something that’s not always true, but just keep on repeating it and ultimately hoping I’ll believe it.’
Hitting Mr Obama with a blizzard of statistics, Mr Romney also hit back hard at what he saw as the President mischaracterising his plans: ‘Virtually everything he just said about my tax plan is inaccurate.'
Mr Romney was at the top of his game from the outset, coming across as pithier and punchier than Mr Obama, who seemed taken aback by being confronted so relentlessly and struggled to speak concisely.
The challenger's dominance came despite his having four minutes less talking time than the incumbent - Mr Romney spoke for 38 minutes and 32 seconds, while Mr Obama held the spotlight for 42 minutes and 50 seconds.
A CNN poll of registered voters who watched the debate reflected Mr Romney's perceived victory, as 67 per cent of respondents regarded him as the night's winner compared to just 25 per cent for Mr Obama.
Additionally, 58 per cent thought that the Republican came across as a stronger leader than the Democrat, while twice as many said the evening had made them more likely to vote for Mr Romney as said they were swayed towards the President.
At the start, Mr Obama tried to make the debate about the next four years rather than his four years in office, saying: ‘The question here tonight is not where we've been but where we're going.’
But Mr Romney pummelled him repeatedly on the state of the economy. ‘The people who are having the hard time right now are middle-income Americans. Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried,’ he said.
‘They’re just being crushed. Middle-income Americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. This is a tax in and of itself. I’ll call it the economy tax. It’s been crushing.
‘At the same time, gasoline prices have doubled under the president. Electric rates are up. Food prices are up. Health care costs have gone up by $2,500 a family. Middle-income families are being crushed.’
He added: ‘The President said that he’d cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, he doubled it.'
Mr Obama spent much of the debate looking down at his notes and pursing his lips as Mr Romney spoke. He also appeared hesitant at time and his occasional attempts at humour fell flat.
While Mr Romney maintained his aggressive stance throughout, Mr Obama was surprisingly gentle on his opponent, failing to mention common attack lines on subjects such as Bain Capital outsourcing, the notorious '47 per cent' video and the supposed Republican ‘war on women’.
But Mr Romney declared: 'This is bigger than an election about the two of us as individuals. It’s bigger than our respective parties. It’s an election about the course of America.'


AXATION - IS ROMNEY PROMISING A $5TRILLION TAX CUT?
Mr Obama accused Mr Romney of planning a $5trillion tax cut which would go mostly to the rich, but the former governor of Massachusetts denied this, saying he would not enact any tax cut which would add to the deficit and characterising his plans as 'tax relief for the middle class'.
The President criticised his rival for ruling out even $1 of tax rises to accompany $10 of spending cuts, but Mr Romney claimed he could raise extra revenue by boosting the economy as a whole. 'The revenue I get is by more people working, and earning higher pay, and paying more taxes,' he said.
Mr Obama also called for cuts in business allowances such as tax breaks for corporate airplanes, saying: 'My attitude is that if you've got a corporate jet you can probably afford to pay full freight for it.'
THE DEFICIT - REDUCE DEBT BY SLASHING GOVERNMENT?
In one of the most substantive presidential debates of modern times, the two clashed from the start over the role of government in the economy.
While the President described Mr Romney's plans as 'top-down economics' which would benefit the wealthy, the former Massachusetts governor shot back that Mr Obama's economic agenda had primarily consisted of 'trickle-down government'.
Mr Obama tried to appear tough on cutting the federal deficit and paying down the national debt but Mr Romney responded that Mr Obama was clearly 'not getting the job done', adding: ‘You've been President for four years!'
Mr Romney blasted Mr Obama for not accepting the conclusions of the Simpsons-Bowles commission on the deficit, which had been set up by the White House, and said that he should have pushed harder for Congress to fine-tune the bill. 'The President said he’d cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, he doubled it.' He added that the debt being passed on to future generations was 'simply not moral'.
Another line of attack from Mr Romney was comparing the American economy to that of the struggling eurozone. He said: 'Spain spends 42 per cent of their total economy on government. We’re now spending 42 per cent of our economy on government. I don’t want to go down the path to Spain.'

Mr Romney, a long-standing critic of the Dodd-Frank Act on financial reform, one of Mr Obama's signature pieces of legislation, attacked the provisions naming five enormous banks as 'too big to fail', saying that provision was 'the biggest kiss that's been given to New York banks' and would hurt smaller institutions.
While conceding that proper regulation was integral to a functioning economy, Mr Romney said that Dodd-Frank had 'unintended consequences' by loading on red tape which made it harder for small financial firms to operate successfully.
But Mr Obama repeatedly insisted that the legislation would prevent a repeat of the 2008 crash, saying: 'Does anybody out there think that the big problem we had is that there was too much oversight and regulation of Wall Street?'
HEALTHCARE - WHICH CANDIDATE WILL PROTECT MEDICARE?
Mr Obama sought to use his personal history to bolster his arguments about Medicare and Social Security, talking about his grandmother who lived alone while a widow but who 'could only [do it] because of Medicare and Social Security.'
He also insisted that the entitlement programmes were 'structurally sound' and did not need radical reform - but Mr Romney countered that serious change was necessary to ensure that the plans are 'there for the long term'.
Both promised that they would not cut benefits for older Americans but sharply disagreed about options for younger workers.
Mr Obama said he was cutting down on excessive payments in the system so the program survives for future generations. Mr Romney calls those cuts a slashing from seniors' care to pay for the Democrats' health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
The pair clashed repeatedly over Obamacare - and when Mr Romney used the term, he apologised to his opponent, who replied, 'I like it.'
Mr Romney attacked him for 'spending two years fighting for Obamacare instead of fighting for jobs', and claimed that business owners had told him they had had to stop offering insurance to their employees because of the controversial healthcare law.
LIBERAL DESPAIR AS ROMNEY CAMP REJOICES
The liberal comedian Bill Maher, who has donated $1million to a Super Pac outside group working for Mr Obama’s re-election, tweeted: ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter.’
Afterwards, Mr Obama’s aides all but conceded their man had lost the night. David Axelrod, the President’s chief strategist, would not say that Mr Obama had won. ‘I'm satisfied,’ he said. ‘I think voters will have received the President very very well tonight.’
He added that he expected Mr Romney to get a poll bounce of up to three percentage points: ‘Governor Romney's been practicing for this debate since June and he was very good in the primary debates. I expected him to be very good on the attack - that's his forte. I wasn't surprised to see him perform the way he did.’
Mr Romney’s advisers were jubilant. ‘If it was a boxing match, it would have been called,’ said Eric Fehrnstrom. ‘I've got to believe that the heels on the President's shoes are worn down from being back on them for 90 minutes. I thought Governor Romney was the clear victor.'
The candidate's running mate Paul Ryan issued a statement saying: 'Americans deserve a clear choice about what kind of future we're going to have, and Governor Romney provided that contrast tonight. Mitt won this debate by effectively articulating his positive vision for a better America and the specific solutions needed to achieve it.'

idmanzik:

University is the venue...but in Nigeria, they will look for International Conference Centre, Transcorp, Eko Hotel etc to showoff. Whatever happened to Trenchard (UI), Amphi Theatre (OAU) or UNILAG Auditorium. SMH for 9ja

Stop being silly. Everybody does not have to follow USA. If they did it in the Church, you will say the same thing

nonen: NEPA/PHCN, abeg, I take God name beg una. My Generator just broke down, needs electric coil replacement/recoil, no be moi-moi matter, but I have it on budget. I can't afford to miss this debate, and worst still, can't watch it in somebody's house. Na una hand I dey oooo!

NEPAL/PHCN Abeg make una take light the guy never pay him bill since January

Todaynatoday: I will like to see GEJ & Obama slug it out just for the fun of it. Do we have this sort of presidential debates in Nigeria?

That would be disastrous

dasparrow:

You are not an american and don't live in america either. Why are you so interested in the US presidential debate? Will Obama or Romney eventually preside over Nigeria as president? Will Nigerian leaders take note on how a proper democratic election is conducted? Will those of you back home insist that your presidential candidates in 2015 engage in a public debate before you go to the polls to vote for them? Because the last time I checked, Jonathan Goodluck refused to engage in a public presidential debate with other presidential hopefuls but granted D'Banj an entertainer an interview instead.

Yet, you people back home went to the polls enmasse to vote for GEJ and now you wonder why the man does not know what the heck he is doing as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The average Nigerian residing in Nigeria seems more concerned about the affairs of a foreign country millions of miles away on another continent than what obtains in Nigeria. Yet, you wonder why Nigerian leaders dey take una dey play yeye while you continue to suffer and smile and live in perpetual darkness without those noisy generators when you should be holding your crookish looting leaders accountable for their actions or send them packing.

One way another the whole thing would affect Nigeria and Nigerians?so leave the dude alone

I didn't watch the entire thing but for the few minutes I watched, Romney gave Obama a thrashing. No doubt, Romney won that debate. Obama looked like an old tired man.

obama really underestimated mitt romney, i think we all did.

Here comes the new President of America and I predicted it with a picture of Mitt Romney as the Winner on Friday, September 28, 2012, see it on http://nigeriantimes..com/2012/09/americans-against-mitt-romney-are.html.

I am happy for all true Americans who know that America deserves a better American President than what they have now.

Obama did greatly in the debate - we call it STRATEGY! Mitt Romney is a slippery and complicated guy, its hard to get a hold of him in anything. He shifts mor ground than Julius Berger has ever done in Nigeria!

He has been offering promises all the way, without an fundamentally sustainable action plan. All Obama did tonight is to get a chance to hear him out on his action plan, so he can tell the world how f***ed up those Mitt plans are, and how they rubbish their recovering system.

America is a country, where most believe in principles and vaues, and will rather choose to die than be dished the opposite!

Obama just has to play the cool fool, let Mitt rant all the way. Mitt is like Nigeria - very hard to understand.

Obama finally has an idea of what Mitt represents, his team will go back to develop further strategy for the next debate. In Kenturky and the rest of the campaign and election, even post election, Mitt Romny will be in the defense while Obama will be in the attack! Mitt has just sold himself out. He will be so humbled in the next debate, that he won't want to attend another one, if ever there will be such.

nonen: Obama did greatly in the debate - we call it STRATEGY! Mitt Romney is a slippery and complicated guy, its hard to get a hold of him in anything. He shifts mor ground than Julius Berger has ever done in Nigeria!

He has been offering promises all the way, without an fundamentally sustainable action plan. All Obama did tonight is to get a chance to hear him out on his action plan, so he can tell the world how f***ed up those Mitt plans are, and how they rubbish their recovering system.

America is a country, where most believe in principles and vaues, and will rather choose to die than be dished the opposite!

Obama just has to play the cool fool, let Mitt rant all the way. Mitt is like Nigeria - very hard to understand.

Obama finally has an idea of what Mitt represents, his team will go back to develop further strategy for the next debate. In Kenturky and the rest of the campaign and election, even post election, Mitt Romny will be in the defense while Obama will be in the attack! Mitt has just sold himself out. He will be so humbled in the next debate, that he won't want to attend another one, if ever there will be such.

You must be drinking kool aid

nonen: Obama did greatly in the debate - we call it STRATEGY! Mitt Romney is a slippery and complicated guy, its hard to get a hold of him in anything. He shifts mor ground than Julius Berger has ever done in Nigeria!

He has been offering promises all the way, without an fundamentally sustainable action plan. All Obama did tonight is to get a chance to hear him out on his action plan, so he can tell the world how f***ed up those Mitt plans are, and how they rubbish their recovering system.

America is a country, where most believe in principles and vaues, and will rather choose to die than be dished the opposite!

Obama just has to play the cool fool, let Mitt rant all the way. Mitt is like Nigeria - very hard to understand.

Obama finally has an idea of what Mitt represents, his team will go back to develop further strategy for the next debate. In Kenturky and the rest of the campaign and election, even post election, Mitt Romny will be in the defense while Obama will be in the attack! Mitt has just sold himself out. He will be so humbled in the next debate, that he won't want to attend another one, if ever there will be such.

I truly feel Obama's problem is the economy. You might not like Republicans over their Foreign Policy. However, when it comes to driving the economy, the Republicans have an edge. These guys are hardcore capitalists who will do whatever it takes to make money as long as the law doesn't catch-up with them. Obama cannot sell hope to people anymore, he has been in power for 4 years already. He needs to come out with a clear plan to fix unemployment and abysmal growth of the American economy or Romney may just pick a win on election day. That will be quite an upset.

maclatunji:

I truly feel Obama's problem is the economy. You might not like Republicans over their Foreign Policy. However, when it comes to driving the economy, the Republicans have an edge.

How did George Bush jr,a republican, drive the economy better than Clinton, democrat?

maclatunji:

I truly feel Obama's problem is the economy. You might not like Republicans over their Foreign Policy. However, when it comes to driving the economy, the Republicans have an edge. These guys are hardcore capitalists who will do whatever it takes to make money as long as the law doesn't catch-up with them. Obama cannot sell hope to people anymore, he has been in power for 4 years already. He needs to come out with a clear plan to fix unemployment and abysmal growth of the American economy or Romney may just pick a win on election day. That will be quite an upset.

i disagree with you on that, the democrats are far better with the economy than the republicans. nonen's argument maybe right, i also had that thought in my head, but we just hope it doesn't backfire.

airmark:

How did George Bush jr,a republican, drive the economy better than Clinton, democrat?

I knew someone would say this, what I deliberately failed to add is that Republicans are also very Machiavellian in nature. They pushed George Bush after September 11, as a tough guy that would deal decisively with terrorists. That was the prevailing theme in America at the time and they pushed it to maximum advantage during Bush's first term and re-election campaign.

Now, it's the economy. Obama has a weakness, Romney is their most electable guy with strength in that regard. We are all being simplistic in our analysis here that is why I will only add details or opinions on a need-to basis. This is not a platform for comprehensive analysis of US Politics.

greaterlove:
i disagree with you on that, the democrats are far better with the economy than the republicans. nonen's argument maybe right, i also had that thought in my head, but we just hope it doesn't backfire.

Look! Just accept Obama got a whipping in this first debate. However, what will happen is that Obama is going into debate boot camp after this and you should expect a more assertive and confident performance in subsequent debates. The next debate will probably be a draw, with the third being more explosive with all "guns blazing".

The only reason i'm following this America's ish is coz our Nigerian govt have a way of doing copy copy where Americans dey. The day our govt start minding their biz is the day i'll stop giving a damn about America.

I can't understand how Romney won this debate, $2 trillion more on the military without a proper expanation on how he is going to pay for it? 4million jos to be created in the next 4 years without outling from which sectors these jobs will come from? Obama atleast explained what he feels Romney's agenda is.

airmark:

How did George Bush jr,a republican, drive the economy better than Clinton, democrat?

Maclatunji, here is a question for you.

For those of you that miss the debate earlier, the re run is on on CNN right now.

HEALTH CARE

In perhaps the most anticipated moment of the debate, Romney survived the session on health care reform, which could have been a major liability for the Republican nominee. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney championed a state health care law that later became the partial blueprint for Obama's national health care overhaul that Romney now says he wants to repeal. During the debate, Romney worked to show the difference between the two laws, while Obama aimed to tie them together. Obama scored points in noting that many of the ideas that made it into the final health care law originated with with Republicans, but Romney escaped the exchange with only minor wounds.

UNEMPLOYMENT UNDER OBAMA

In a way, Obama faced an even deeper challenge. After four years under his watch, the unemployment rate remains above 8 percent and the national debt now tops over $16 trillion. Indeed, the president inherited a post over a nation facing one of the deepest recessions in recent history, but Obama had to make the case that his policies were the right ones without merely saying "it could have been worse." If the end of his first term is a performance review and the debates are his time to make a defense, it's crucial for him to hit his marks.

Well, I always say the easiest job in the world is to criticize so Romney gained a victory by pointing out Obama's flaws but he failed in the most important aspect....proposing solutions. Obama inherited 2 Wars and the 2nd worst economic crisis the world has ever experienced and pulling America out of that quagmire will definitely put him out of his depth. The situation can be likened to a spectator watching a soccer match on tv and screaming out moves he xpects players on the field to make but when put in the game and asked to play, let's see how he'll fair.
@ Dasparrow. If you don't observe how a progressive society carry out the aspects that determine their lives, how will we learn the right step to take in Nigeria

Well said bro, well said!

i'm happy the American voters are not silly voters like what we 've got in Nigeria.

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that “the status quo is not going to cut it.”
“We know that the path we’re taking is not working. It’s time for a new path,” Romney said.
He said Obama’s push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery.
“You raise taxes and you kill jobs,” Romney said. “I don’t want to kill jobs in this environment.”
On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years – of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who’s looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan.
Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class.
“It’s math, it’s arithmetic,” Obama said
Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he’s pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes.
“I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut,” Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class.
“There’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that – no tax cut that adds to the deficit,” Romney said. He added: “I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families.”
Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 – and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign’s claims that he has not been specific.

What else has Romney got to say in the next 2 debates appart from the economy and jobs that he capitalized on yesterday? I think he just layed all his eggs in one basket. The the issues of the 47% lazy Americans is still yet to come, at least he released his 13% tax rate he paid, while some middle class familes with an annual income of ca $200,000 are being taxed as much as 25%. You all think the democrates are silly, they 're just waiting for the last minute when they will fresh up these topics on voters mind just before the will go to the polls.

ehie:
.
“There’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that – no tax cut that adds to the deficit,” Romney said. He added: “I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families.

So where will the tax cut he is promising the wealthiest People come from?

I will rather spend my evening celebrating my sucsessfull marriage anniversary, instead of standing here and arguing with a non-specific politician like Mitt Romney. Who want to be at the oval office at every cost. But i'll get you a-s-s at the last minute. That is my conclusion from that debate.

airmark:

How did George Bush jr,a republican, drive the economy better than Clinton, democrat?

lmao, you beat me to that... George Bush brought America to where it is today economically.


To the debate, I think this was just a strategy. There are two more debates which will even be closer to the elections. obama is no fool to let all those mitt romney gaffes slide. the 47%, bain outsourcing, etc. I think obama played to a script. Mitt Romney just dropped a whole lot of lies which will be used against him in subsequent debates.

Freiburger: What else has Romney got to say in the next 2 debates appart from the economy and jobs that he capitalized on yesterday? I think he just layed all his eggs in one basket. The the issues of the 47% lazy Americans is still yets to come, at least he released his 13% tax rate he paid, while some middle class familes with an annual income of ca $200,000 are being taxed as much as 25%.

True, he may not have it so easy on the "Domestic and Foreign policy" debate but as long as he keeps his plans secret, he still has an edge. He won yesterday because he had a lot of 'new' things to talk about, untested plans that sound good to the ears but may not work, and had enough room to attack the president's already known plans. Obama couldn't attack his plans in the same way understandably but what surprised a lot of people was that Obama didn't even defend his own policies and achievements like he should have.

Freiburger: You all think the democrates are silly, they 're just waiting for the last minute when they will fresh up these topics on voters mind just before the will go to the polls.

Freiburger: I will rather spend my evening celebrating my sucsessfull marriage anniversary, instead of standing here and arguing with a non-specific politician like Mitt Romney. Who want to be at the oval office at every cost. But i'll get you a-s-s at the last minute. That is my conclusion from that debate.

With 5 weeks to go ? This is no last minute 'throw-out-the-attack' plan, D. Axelrod was trying so hard to sound confident and in control of the situation yesterday but it was obvious he was trying to sugar coat the loss not to make it look so bad.

This is the debate where the points should have been made, the economy is of utmost importance to most people and once swing voters make up their minds, it may be too late to change it.

Obama and the Dems need to restrategize, this Romney na potential disaster, I don't trust him at all.

I think these spontaneos feel of romney victory will backfire in coming days. when facts and figures begin to come up.

I think some people here are still lost in the #Obamamania wilderness. That performance by Obama in this morning's debate is one of the worst I have seen in a long time on any platform- Ok, aside the GEJ monologue we had during Nigeria's Presidential Campaign.