USA: Voters in Washington, D.C. say Republican challenger Mitt Romney represented himself well during the first presidential debate against U.S. President Barack Obama.

Record ID: 593368

  • Title: USA: Voters in Washington, D.C. say Republican challenger Mitt Romney represented himself well during the first presidential debate against U.S. President Barack Obama.
  • Date: 5th October 2012
  • Summary: PHOTOGRAPH OF OBAMA AND ROMNEY ON COVER OF THE WASHINGTON TIMES NEWSPAPER AND HEADLINE READING: "CLASH FOR MIDDLE-CLASS VOTERS" HEADLINE IN WASHINGTON TIMES READING: "CANDIDATES DEBATE WHICH PATH IS BEST FOR AMERICA"
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA41IN2QQBRI0197CWW93M5LNEI
  • Story Text: The morning after the first presidential debate between Republican nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, many voters said Romney performed well -- even if they didn't support the former Massachusetts governor.
    "I did watch the debate. I felt that Mitt Romney did very well. I thought he came across as more specific in his answers. I felt that President Obama lacked in his ability to connect," Ted Kniker, a Virginia resident said.
    "I think that Romney did a nice job articulating his points. I think he took the time to have what he was going to say kind of mapped out in his mind, so when he started off in that, 'Point 1, point 2, point 3, point 4... 8,' I said, 'oh, he's organized.' I believe in our president, so for that reason, I listened very intently to what he had to say, and if we listen to what his plans are, which I think he did articulate and spell out, he's the winner," Carolene Charles, Washington, D.C. resident said.
    "I did watch the debate and I thought there was no clear winner. I thought Mr. Romney performed better than expected, and I thought it was a very substantive debate with lots of details about the economics that I think should help viewers and voters decide what they want to do at the polls in November," Melanie Sloan, a Washington, D.C. resident said.
    "I thought he was more articulate. I thought he was more to the point. I thought he threw Obama off his message by denying, for instance, the $5 trillion tax cut. It was almost like, 'That's just absolutely wrong. I never said that,' and it kind of left Obama, I thought, without a good come-back to that," John Greenbaugh, an attorney for the U.S. federal government said.
    Republicans were quick to claim bragging rights after Mitt Romney's aggressive performance in the first presidential debate on Wednesday, while Democrats struggled to explain President Barack Obama's often flat showing.
    Obama delved into policy in great and rambling detail, but never reminded voters of two of his most effective attacks against his rival: Romney's experience at the Bain Capital private equity fund and the secretly recorded "47 percent" video showing Romney criticizing nearly half the electorate.
    Obama maintained an advantage in opinion polls prior to the debate. On Wednesday, he led Romney by 47 percent to 41 percent in the daily Reuters / IPSOS tracking poll, a margin that has held fairly steady since the middle of September. Other polls have shown the race to be a little closer. Obama holds clear leads in most of the politically divided states that are likely to decide the election.
    Polling data taken after the debate was not immediately available.
    With the November 6 election little more than a month away, Romney is running out of time to seize the lead.
    Voting has begun in some form or another in 35 states, and 6 percent of those have already cast their ballots, according to a Reuters/IPSOS poll released on Wednesday.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Video restrictions: parts of this video may require additional clearances. Please see ‘Business Notes’ for more information.
Register