Surprise! Romney wipes out Obama in first national US TV debate
Mitt Romney unexpectedly trounced president Obama in the first American presidential debate last night at the University of Denver.
Romney wins first debate
A poll of CNN registered voters delivered the verdict : 67% thought Republican Romney won the debate; 25% Obama.
Commentators on CNN thought Obama "didn't look as though he wanted to be there" and showed signs of irritability. Romney on the other hand was confident and appeared much better prepared, a far cry from the stuffed shirt he is reputed to be. "Obama didn't even look at Romney," was one comment.
Health care, unemployment and the economy were the major talking points as the questions were confined to domestic issues. Observers were surprised that Obama didn't bring up the famous Romney remark about the 47% of Americans he wouldn't be looking out for because they were "part of the dependency culture."
There were no sharp clashes and no Eureka moments - but everyone agreed that Obama had to do better in the next debate in two weeks.
With just over a month until the election, Obama has been edging ahead in most polls. All eyes will now be on new polls expected later this week: Will they show Romney in the lead for the first time?