8:59 PM: Okay, and here we go.
9:03 PM: If you want to vote for a short man for president, you’re disenfranchised.
9:05 PM: Auto industry, auto industry, auto industry … ‘economic patriotism’ hits a lot of points for Obama.
9:08 PM: And also small business, small business, small business. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
9:10 PM: Like two boxers just dancing.
9:11 PM: And now we get down to the debate over taxes.
9:12 PM: Curious whether Obama’s going to press Romney on his tax numbers just not adding up. He hasn’t pressed the point.
9:13 PM: “By the way, I like coal.”
9:15 PM: Obama seems tight.
9:16 PM: Getting curious whether Obama is by design setting a trap for Romney. His numbers are just wrong here. Numerous economists say Romney’s numbers don’t work. And he’s doubling down.
9:22 PM: Simpson-Bowles!
9:23 PM: Romney=Bush. But why doesn’t Obama mention Bush’s name? Weird.
9:25 PM: Romney is uber-prepared. Double-uber prepared. Can barely find seconds to fit all his words and examples into. Obama seems tentative.
9:29 PM: Bowles-Simpson has been rechristined!
9:31 PM: Obama rising to his game.
9:34 PM: Oil industry, “corporate welfare”. We’ll see pivoting off that tomorrow.
9:35 PM: “Time to end it.”
9:38 PM: I don’t think Romney wanted to say he needs a new accountant when it comes to sending stuff, doing business overseas.
9:39 PM: Romney’s ‘Big Bold Idea Is Never Mind’ On Taxes‘
9:42 PM: Obama’s approach in this debate is the anti-zinger. Substantive, generally not pressing arguments. He basically ceded Social Security and Medicare, said Romney and he basically agreed. Weird.
9:46 PM: “I don’t think vouchers are the right way to go.” Obama’s sort of rising to his game here.
9:47 PM: “What about vouchers?”
9:49 PM: Bill Clinton!!!!
9:51 PM: My read so far is that if you go by energy and tossing out lots of data points, then Romney is running circles around the president. Obama has only on a few occasions really pressed a point hard. Whether that means he’s ‘winning’ I don’t know. But energy level, Romney all the way. But I think there are a lot of traps that Obama’s put out there for Romney. Romney really pressed his insistence that he just isn’t going to do what he says his plan is going to do. I think those statements — and the statement about vouchers — might be unpacked badly for him over the next few days.
9:57 PM: Embracing Romneycare. Romneycare is awesome.
9:58 PM: A few great images so far of the debate.
10:02 PM: What’s really rough here is that Romney keeps restating points that have been discredited repeatedly over the last months and years. But Obama is letting it all slide by. Rough. Real rough.
10:06 PM: Ok, pre-existing conditions. Romney says his plan covers the same thing as the president’s. Not true. Wonder if he’s going to get called on it. Romney’s ‘plan’ is identical to the current system which is that you’re only covered if you have continuity of coverage.
10:11 PM: Romney walks away from his own tax plan.
10:20 PM: Again and again through this debate, Romney has left himself open to wounding hits from the president. Each time President Obama did not go there. He didn’t want the harsh hit. I’m curious whether that will turn out to have been a good decision.
10:22 PM: Again, this is my read from this debate. Energy and focus all in Romney’s hands on this. Obama simply hasn’t pressed any points where Romney said things that were demonstrably false. A bit on his tax cut plan, but not much. But how does it play over the next week? Romney’s been holding back all the details on his plans, basically refusing to talk about him. He’s put a lot on the table here, made a lot of claims which simply don’t add up. Obama hasn’t pressed the falsehoods or math that doesn’t make sense. Does the press do it tomorrow? How well do these claims wear? That’s how we’ll know how each did.
10:31 PM: I remember noting one thing about the 2004 debates, especially the first one. George Bush seemed not to like being criticized by a guy up there on the stage with him. President’s just don’t have that happen. They get criticized but not often to their face. Bush showed that in spades. And I feel like I’ve seen some of that from Obama tonight. A lot of grimacing.
CNN now doing its fact-check. Very sad. Romney says he’ll come up with loophole cuts to cover the $5 trillion in tax cuts. And if you take Romney’s word for it, then Romney’s right. That’s a fact check?
Obama calls out Romney on his pre-existing conditions fib.
From TPM Reader VL …
Just quickly here because I’m in low health and barely had the stomach for my own quivering nerves on a night like this …. but yes, totally agree with you – O was low energy, quite obviously unprepared, and Mitt beat him hands down. I was completely prepared for Romney to win tonight, – given that O is a poor debater and this first one was on domestic policy. But it was worse than I’d hoped for.
From TPM Reader JP …
Why does Romney get an Incomplete and Obama gets a false on the grounds that we need to take Romney at his word. Why doesn’t taking someone at his word produce an incomplete until we find out what their word is?
This was CNN’s John Berman’s quick factcheck on the dispute over whether Mitt Romney had anyway to pay for his $5 trillion tax cut for high income earners …
Now let’s look at the facts here. Mitt Romney does propose across-the-board, 20 percent tax cuts. The nonpartisanTax Policy Center said under that plan, taxes on the wealthiest Americans would be reduced by $5 trillion initially. Romney said he would offset that by closing loopholes and reducing reductions. So if you take him at his word, our verdict that Mitt Romney would cut taxes on the wealthy by $5 trillion, the verdict here is false.
Romney says he’ll find a unicorn. And if you take him at his word, the verdict is false.