Why is this my reaction?
The media buzz will be "Romney won." It may fire up his troops--I think my liberal friends who think it won't b/c he portrayed himself as a moderate are misunderstanding how much his base hates Obama, worships aggression as such, and thrills to his pabulum about "freedom" and other nonsense.
The short-term result might be a shrinking of Obama's lead in national polls (which don't matter) and maybe some of the swing states (which do), but not enough to make a difference. I didn't see anything here likely to change the dynamic of this race.
So, cause for concern and disappointment. But we shouldn't be surprised and we shouldn't panic--and I've been hearing some very unseemly panic on MSNBC and elsewhere. For further explanation, join me on the other side of the squiggly. . .
On the other hand, the Romney Wants to Kill Big Bird meme is catchy, and there will be plenty of blowback on Rmoney's many, many manifestly untrue claims through ads and the like. (One thing the O. campaign had damn well better debunk AGAIN is the Medicare cut lie.)
I say I am not surprised because this is often the dynamic in first debates b/t incumbents and challengers and because, frankly, for all his rhetorical and mental gifts, the President has never been a particularly gifted debater. And Rmoney's considerable intelligence (in all the wrong ways) and amoeba-like ability to morph his shape made me think he'd probably do pretty well, especially in a disastrously-conceived and poorly-moderated format like this.
Finally, I'm displeased because I think a very strong performance by the President--and he sure as hell didn't offer that--might have completely terminated Rmoney's changes and played a part in a stronger Dem performance down the ticket. On the upside, anxiety on our side is a good guard against complacency.