The overall consensus, supported by the polls, is that Obama won the first debate:
“Who won the debate polls” are notoriously subjective, of course, so take them for what they’re worth. But according to three post debate polls, respondents think Obama got the best of things tonight:
CBS News: Obama won 39%, McCain won 25%, Draw 36%
Insider Advantage: Obama won 42%, McCain won 41%, Undecided: 17%
CNN: Obama “did better” 51%, McCain “did better” 38%
(link)
However, as noted by the above article, who won is hard to define.
You could judge it like a high school debate team, take into consideration expectations, take into consideration each candidate’s area of expertise etc. etc. etc.
At the end of the day Obama’s victory stems from the fact that this was supposed to be McCain’s best subject matter.
There’s room for improvement by Obama, but he successfully destroyed the idea that he cannot go toe-to-toe with McCain with ease.
Congratulations Obama and company!
