As an Obama supporter, my thoughts on how Romney won, and what Obama needs to do in the days to come
Unfortunately for people that support Obama, Romney won the debate. Even though Mitt somehow was the superior orator tonight, Romney mainly defeated the President by speaking more "mathemagically." That is, he spewed nonsense math that doesn't add up. Right now, America has an obsession with statistics, analysis, and numerical evaluation that is only possible due to the high levels of global connectivity humans experience through technology, most generally through the internet, and the low cost of computational power that exists in cheap hardware and software, and the guy who spouts off more numbers that are pleasing to the masses wins, even if those numbers hold no truth in reality.
Romney sold a dream plan to the American people tonight, and everyone (including me) ate it up. Both candidates tried to paint an overall picture for how prosperous America would be under their presidency, and both said roughly the same thing: that Americans will pay less taxes, be confident they will get quality health care, have access to and have the ability to pay for excellent education, get assurance that the government will reduce spending, and live in a more vibrant economy that offers better jobs and higher wages for everyone. Sounds great to me, but the problem is only one candidate has delivered concrete examples, or a PLAN, if you will, to back up those claims.
I don't know where Romney was channeling that charisma from, but he dominated Obama in convincing America his vision of the future would be glorious, while Obama's proposals would be cataclysmic. The difference though is that Romney's goals cannot be met because there is no substance behind them. The president's best moment of the night was when he pointed out that, hey, Mitt's ideas sound great and all, but when Mitt gets pressed for more details, the American people have heard jack squat from him and his team. As president, you need a detailed plan, not vague notions and cliche ideals.
The only times Obama championed Romney was when he drew the line in the sand about how he differed from his opponent; how he contrasted from Romney. "Hey citizens who are 54 and soon to be 55, you might want to listen up, because as Mitt just pointed out, HE IS GOING TO CHANGE HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND IT MIGHT HAVE SERIOUS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON YOUR LIFE." Obama looked strongest when he took direct, legitimate shots on Romney, what his language has been throughout the campaign, and what his detailed (or lack-there-of) soltuions have been proposed for this country.
To connect with the people more, Obama needs to suck it up and play the dirty numbers game. It is wrong to use simple percentages and values to paint broad pictures across insanely complex topics and problems, but as the old saying going, you can use statistics to prove any point; 87% of all people know that! And secondly, Obama needs to remind America how ridiculous Mitt Romney sounds. Mitt is going to unite the government?! He is all about federal regulation!? He understands that the government needs to be there to help to poor and less fortunate of this country, AKA the quote "47%"?! And the most mind-bottling to me, Romney's plan to cut the enormous deficit is to get rid of funding for PBS, but maintain our current military budget?!?!
Mitt polished up his likability (which is saying A LOT when you compare a guy who has only had ONE BEER in his life and we have a current president who is BREWING HIS OWN in the white house), and it didn't help that the moderator let Romney assert his alpha-male status over the debate by not giving an inch to Romney, but he still delivered mere notions and failed to give anything concrete about how a Romney presidency would be put into effect. Obama, the world has seen what it is like when you put your man hand down and take charge, and it is oh so bossy. In my opinion, anyone who investigates Mitt Romney's solutions and ideas are only left to wander a barren wasteland, and sit wondering why they didn't see the foolishness of his rhetoric earlier. Obama needs to not let Romney sell his fantasy to America, and must step up his game if he hopes to be re-elected.