Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Most polling shows Obama winning the overall debate by a 7 point margin.
CBS showed Obama winning 37-30%, while CNN showed Obama out in front 47-40%.
However, if this election is going to be about the economy - if that’s really the number one issue for voters - Romney demolished his competition.
The CNN numbers break down as follows:
Asked who won on the economy, it was Romney: 58-40%
Who won on Taxes? Romney: 51-44%
Who is a stronger leader? Romney: 49-46%
Who won on Health Care? Romney: 49-46%
Who’ll fix the deficit? Romney, by an impressive 49-36%
Meanwhile, over at CBS, polling showed the same 7 point split, but a staggering win for Romney on economic issues.
Asked who won on the economy, respondents answered Romney by an absolutely destructive margin of 31 points: 65-34%.
More troubling news for Obama is that the CNN poll showed undecided voters whose decision had been changed by the debate split evenly between the two candidates. 25% for Obama, 25% for Romney.
As expected, Obama showed up for a fight and perhaps even took the overall edge, but failed to change enough minds to move the political needle in his direction.