Reaction to last night's debate

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(NYT)

We'll have a lot more reaction to last night's second presidential debate today and in the days to come, but if you missed them make sure to check out our two posts from last night:

-- pre-debate; and
-- post-debate.

Richard and I, along with contributors Frank Moraes and tmcbpatriot (and Mustang Bobby for the pre- post), provided extensive commentary and analysis.

Quick consensus take: Obama was outstanding and won big. (Needless to say, a great relief to us all.)

My quick personal take (from my much longer comments last night):

Compared to the first debate, it was night and day, the president focused, on message, on the attack, calling out Romney for his near-constant dishonesty, explaining his record and policies clearly and succinctly, and making a strong case for why he deserves a second term. 

All in all, a brilliant performance by the president. He was in control and engaging from beginning to end. In contrast, from the very start, Romney tried to break the rules, rudely talking over Obama and the moderator, Candy Crowley, interrupting and generally acting the bully, much like he did in the first debate but this time to terrible effect. And in terms of his performance he declined badly as the debate went on, losing focus and lashing out with "kitchen sink" approaches to the questions.

Where I was nervous and anxious going into the debate, I came out of it not just relieved but highly energized. This is the Obama we know. This is the Obama we love. This was the President Obama America needs for four more years.

I didn't make as much of his poor performance in the first debate as most others, seeing a lot of the post-debate analysis as overblown, but he obviously needed a strong performance last night.

It's good, incredibly good, to have him back.

More of this, Mr. President. We're with you all the way.