Most people thought Obama won the first debate: Poll

vindicator

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So a poll after the debates shows that most people thought Obama won the first debate. If you look at Mccain, you can see him wincing, chuckling and he looked downright grumpy.

Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says - CNN.com

A national poll of people who watched the first presidential debate suggests that Barack Obama came out on top, but there was overwhelming agreement that both Obama and John McCain would be able to handle the job of president if elected.

Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Obama did the better job in Friday night's debate, while 38 percent said John McCain did better.
 

Notaguru2

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Well, if foreign policy is McCain's sweet spot, Obama stood right in there with him. I just saw an interview on Fox with Geraldine Ferraro. As you know, she has love affair with Obama, but she is predicting next week's VEEP debate to be a train wreck for Palin. I'm actually going to whip up some popcorn and diet coke for that debate =)
 

stratedude

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From the article:
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey is not a measurement of the views of all Americans, since only people who watched the debate were questioned and the audience included more Democrats than Republicans
Men were nearly evenly split between the two candidates, with 46 percent giving the win to McCain and 43 percent to Obama. But women voters tended to give Obama higher marks, with 59 percent calling him the night's winner, while just 31 percent said McCain won.

Well besides the fact that this says that nearly all men in a democrat-heavy sample were split evenly (not good for Obama), you also have to take into consideration that many women voters who would otherwise vote democrat are pressured to vote with their husband (who could be a republican or at least like McCain over Obama). This phenomenon was pointed out in 2004 after Bush whipped Kerry.

Now we are dealing with a black man, and there is strong evidence that indicates that some white people that SAY they support Obama have a tendancy to end up voting for the white candidate.

And finally, the phone poll by FoxNews (who showed in a commercial to have the most evenly split viewers of all the 3 big cable news networks had McCain winning with 80% (last I checked)
 
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vindicator

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Obama could die on stage and CNN would call him the winner...

Dude... did you even READ the article? It's a poll....

poll - a questioning or canvassing of persons selected at random or by quota to obtain information or opinions to be analyzed

They ask people a question "who do you think won the debate?". How did CNN call him the winner?

Must be like when Faux News called the 2000 election for George Bush. :wink:
 

B_VinylBoy

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Obama could die on stage and CNN would call him the winner...

Biased maybe?
If you actually watched the footage on CNN as I did, most of the analysts at the end of the debate stated the debate wasn't a sure win for either side. Most favored Obama's position (with the exception of one), however, they didn't speak as if Obama blew the contest wide open.

And that, my friend, is the truth. Next time, watch the footage instead of speculating about it.
 

vindicator

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Thats probably the most consistent analysis Vinylboy. Obama won, but he didn't blow the doors off. That analysis also seems to be consistent with opinion polls that had Obama 15 points ahead. 25+ points would have been considered a hammering.
 

LambHair McNeil

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Kerry was considered to have clearly won two of the three 2004 debates and the townhall-style version was called a draw, a win for Bush, or a win for Kerry, take your pick.

It'll remain to be seen if debate "wins" translate to real political momentum or simply a version of political 'fashion and style' commentary.
 

Katiecav_34D

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For myself I thought Obama won, McCain's focus was the past Obama was to the future. The anylists don't determine who won a debate, Lots of time ordinary people see it completely different then they do, which the polls seem to prove, even the FOX poll had Obama slightly ahead. Of the 3 cable networks MSNBC is far to the left Fox is far to the right and CNN is left leaning. If you can't tell I'm an Obama supporter and a registerd republican

Katie
 

B_VinylBoy

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SpeedoMike said:
Obama could die on stage and CNN would call him the winner...
You are so right Mike!!

Repeated for emphasis:
If you actually watched the footage on CNN as I did, most of the analysts at the end of the debate stated the debate wasn't a sure win for either side. Most favored Obama's position (with the exception of one), however, they didn't speak as if Obama blew the contest wide open.

It's apparent that the two of you did NOT watch CNN for the debate. For if you did you wouldn't be spouting this nonsense. The only difference between ignorance and blind ignorance is that you can't see the cliff quickly approaching as you walk. Instead of dreaming your own biased hypothesis, watch the footage! :rolleyes:
 

JustAsking

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I think it was a case of winning in the eye of the beholder. The debate was substantive (as these things go), and both candidates seem to have command of their material.

On points, perhaps McCain won, but debate points are not what gets one elected.

There were no quotable zingers ("... you are no Jack Kennedy") so you don't have that to go on.

These things are often a game of expectations. McCain exceeded people's expectations in terms if his energy, his reasonably quick and competent answers, and he also managed to be on the aggressive attack. He did not seem too old for the job and he didn't show signs of a "temperment" problem. I think his most useful phrase was "What Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand....". He used this frequently and it was pretty effective. One thing, though, is that he never looked to the left at Obama. He always talked to the camera and mentioned Obama in the third person. I don't know if that was deliberate and I don't know if that was a good idea or not.

Obama exceeded expectations in the sense that probably almost no one watched the debate and concluded that he wasn't ready for the job. He appeared to have command of domestic economic issues and foreign policy. He was decisive, competent, and confident. After watching the debate, most doubters could now see him as "presidential". If this is all he accomplished in this debate, it was well worth his while. He also managed to challenge McCain directly and turned directly towards him while doing it. From Obama there was more the effect of both of them having a conversation. Finally, Obama appeared to be McCain's equal. There was no sense that Obama didn't belong up there on the same stage with the accomplished and experienced McCain.

In summary, McCain supporters were not disappointed. Undecideds were not put off by McCain for any reason. Obama supporters were not disappointed, and Undecideds saw an Obama who they could imagine as President.