Weak Win

According to a FOX News commentator on the TV news coverage following the debate, Obama outdid McCain from an "objective" standpoint. I think the Obama campaign strategists would have been pleased with the coverage of the debate because most of the analysts favored Obama 100 percent. Even though he did not outdo McCain by a landslide, FOX definitely portrayed him as a having a better grip on the issues than did McCain, which is positive from a campaign perspective. Even though Obama did not blow McCain out of the water according to several commentators, he still seemed to shine by comparison. 

According to some, it was because both candidates stuck to their messaging during the speech and didn't sway away from what they would say in a speech or rally. Again, from a campaign perspective, I think this kind of coverage is satisfactory. They did not portray Barack as a flip-flopper. He did not stumble over his words dramatically. He just did just fine. Or at least that was the echo I heard from the post-debate conversation on FOX following the second presidential debate. 

But he could have done better. 

According to a FOX focus group that featured undecided voters in Arlington, Virginia, some felt like he really "spoke" to the voter. He wasn't snide. He answered his questions. He had a better grasp on the issues. The one main complaint: dancing around questions. And from a campaign perspective, I'd say most strategists would agree that it's just part of the game. 

Some said the key overall was Obama's responses to healthcare. Again, positive coverage since there are drastic differences between the two candidates' platforms on the issue. Others say he gained points on Iraq and Afghanistan. Still positive. 

However, it wasn't mere irony that the first person FOX interviewed following the debate was Mitt Romney. According to Romney, "What Barack Obama isn't telling you is that John McCain is leaving the tax level the same. He's not going to raise them. That's why he doubles the family deduction and the $5,000 tax credit," he said on the air. Romney also favored McCain because McCain specifically said he would do everything to protect the country during the debate and Obama did not. In the grand scheme of the debate, I thought Romney's comments wouldn't have upset any Obama strategists since they were pretty weak arguments.

According to FOX, the debate was not a game changer. "Obama was in command of the facts and aware of the game change. It was a great debate performance for him. Republicans love deficits. Obama's plan is about stimulating the economy through green jobs, growing the middle class, strong and steady," said Senator Claire McCaskill.

I thought it was interesting that FOX also quoted David Plouffe, Obama's campaign strategist in a story on his outlook of the debate: "No mud. No hits. No errors." That leads me to the final conclusion that overall, debate coverage favored Obama. Like Plouffe, I thought the benefits of the debate coverage were things that didn't happen rather than the things that did.