Much has been made of Obama's disastrous performance in the first Presidential debate. And that performance was truly disastrous, to the point of irresponsibility. Well deservedly, his poll ratings declined for several days after that debate.
Still, I wonder how much the Obama poll decline should be pinned on the debate alone. After all, the Democratic campaign did make a conscious decision to spend early—to define Romney's public image before Romney could do so himself. It could be argued that that strategy was flawed. Romney was always going to have a chance to define himself, and Obama's doziness simply gave him an additional opportunity. And it was always going to be the case that when Republican spending kicked in, the Obama ratings would slip. Is that what happened? Not the debate but the ebb and flow of the campaign?
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