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Too true; Obama didn’t look good at all (though he spoke more clearly than I thought he would without his Speak & Spell - at least early on). I posted here months ago that Obama wouldn’t engage in debates, and now you can see why I thought he’d somehow avoid them. For too long he was flying high by avoiding any critical or even impartial questions about his performance & policies; it is horrible timing to get ripped apart on them so close to the election.

Obama didn’t look good at all (though he spoke more clearly than I thought he would without his Speak & Spell - at least early on).

Watching it again, you are right that Obama did start off ok. He was into his usual smooth jive but once he realized what Romney was bringing he shriveled. It was physically noticeable if you watch again. Obama's whole demeanor and body language changed. He winced several times and starting looking down and around, clearly signaling he wanted out. He often stared at Lehrer just begging him to shut Romney down or move on, even outright asking him once to do so. His smiles and laughs were nervous ones. One big thing I noticed was when there was a loud banging noise offstage while Romney was speaking. Both guys reacted to it and looked around, but Romney just quickly glanced and turned right back at Obama and continued his speech, unfazed. Obama grinned, looked around and clearly wanted to make it a distraction and lighten the mood. Once he saw Romney coming right back at him his smile faded and his head went back down. Another escape attempt thwarted.

It was fascinating to see Obama totally exposed and dismantled. Romney was absolutely incredible - it was without a doubt the greatest debate performance and most one sided victory I've ever seen.