There are already some numbers coming in measuring perceptions about who “won” tonight’s presidential debate. To start, CBS News polled 500 uncommitted voters and found:
- 40% thought Obama won, 22% thought McCain won, and the rest thought it was a draw
- 46% said their opinion of Obama got better tonight
- 68% think Obama would make the right decisions about the economy, compared to 42% for John McCain
- 55% think McCain would make the right decisions about Iraq, compared to 49% for Obama
MediaCurves held a focus group, and while Democrats and Republicans broke along party lines, independents gave the edge to Obama on every segment:
- 61% of independents said Obama won, compared to 39% for McCain (“tie” wasn’t given as an option)
- Independents rated the segment on Russia as Obama’s best, giving him the edge 66.7% to 33.3%
- Independents rated the segment on government spending as Obama’s worst, giving him the edge over McCain 53.4% to 46.6%
Granted, the final effect of the debate on the polls may be very different from this initial snapshot. However, it appears Obama reached the audience he needed to: independents and undecided voters. What do you think?