Toby Harnden reports that President Obama “did not take his debate preparation seriously, ignored the advice of senior aides and walked off the stage in Denver believing he had got the better of Mitt Romney.” Um, really? If that’s true and he thought he had gotten the better of Mitt Romney, then I have to say he must have been on something. That speaks to a certain level of arrogance on his part.
A top Democrat “said that Obama’s inner circle was dismayed at the ‘disaster’ that the first presidential debate had turned out to be and believed that the central problem was that the President was so disdainful of Romney that he didn’t believe he needed to engage with him… The Democrat, who is aligned with the Obama campaign and has been an unofficial adviser on occasions, said that David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, was stunned that the President left the stage feeling that he had won the debate.”
Hey, Mr. President, if you think you won the debate, take a look at the polls, 27 days until the election and some people are in a tizzy:
National Polls (H/T Political Wire)
DailyKos/SEIU/Public Policy Polling: Romney 49%, Obama 47%
Gallup: Romney 49%, Obama 47%
American Research Group: Romney 48%, Obama 47%
Rasmussen: Obama 48%, Romney 48%
Reuters/Ipsos: Obama 45%, Romney 45%
Washington Times/Zogby: Obama 45%, Romney 45%
Swing State Polls (H/T Political Wire)
Colorado: Romney 50%, Obama 46% (American Research Group)
Nevada: Obama 47%, Romney 47% (Rasmussen)
North Carolina: Romney 50%, Obama 41% (Gravis)
Ohio: Romney 48%, Obama 47% (American Research Group)
Ohio: Obama 45%, Romney 44% (SurveyUSA)
Pennsylvania: Obama 43%, Romney 40% (Siena)
This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.