We seem to be seeing the same trend as after the first presidential debate and the VP debate: Pundits and political junkies saw it as a tie, but voters in snap polls give the edge to the Democratic candidate.
The results from about 500 uncommitted voters surveyed by CBS:
- Who won the debate? 39% say Obama, 27% McCain, 35% rate it a tie.
- How did the debate impact vote preferences? 15% say they are now committed to Obama, 14% to McCain and 70% are still uncommitted.
- Candidates rated – would make the right decisions about the economy?
McCain: 41% before the debate, 49% after
Obama: 54% before the debate, 68% after - Candidates rated – understands your needs?
McCain: 35% before the debate, 46% after
Obama: 60% before the debate, 80% after -
Candidates rated – prepared for the job of president
McCain: 80% before the debate, 84% after
Obama: 42% before the debate, 57% after - Did candidates answer the questions they were asked?:
57% yes, 42% no — for both candidates
And from a CNN instant poll (via Pollster):
- Who did the best job in the debate?
McCain (R) 30
Obama (D) 54 - Opinion of Barack Obama (before debate)
Favorable: 64 (60)
Unfavorable: 34 (38) - Opinion of John McCain (before debate)
Favorable: 51 (51)
Unfavorable: 46 (46) - Who expressed his views more clearly in the debate?
Obama 60
McCain 30 - Who spent more time attacking his opponent?
Obama 17
McCain 63 - Who seemed to be the stronger leader?
Obama 54
McCain 43 - Who was most likable?
Obama 65
McCain 28
Obama may have quietly won the election tonight. People are starting to get comfortable with the idea of him as a president. He didn’t need anything dramatic to give pundits fodder; he needed to appeal to unsure voters, and that’s exactly what he did. McCain can’t win it all in the last debate. He needed to shift momentum tonight to put himself within striking distance in the last debate, and he didn’t do that. Now, he’ll have to find another way to change the game between now and then. Look for it to get real nasty.