Obama did phone it in and didn't call Romney on any lies, but his defeat meme was a lot larger than it should have been. The media went off the snap polls to set the narrative, and even though Romney's lies made headlines the very next day, the momentum that started in the snap polls already built the juggernaut that rolled through the MSM.
Even the swing state voters they used that silly device liked it when Obama talked--there was never a knockout blow--but in the end pulled for Romney. The narrative was already set and made his lead much bigger than it should have been.
These things make a difference.. as unscientific as they are.
Kos:
In 2008, the pundits watched the debate between John McCain and Barack Obama and immediately after, declared that the old guy had triumphed! Then, a few minutes later, snap polls from CNN and CBS came back and doused them with cold water, Obama had won handily.
The pundits declared Sarah Palin the big victor in the veep debate, but the snap polls confirmed that the American people disagreed. By the last debate, the pundits sat around sheepishly waiting for the results, stewing that they had been rendered obsolete by the American people.
GO to Yahoo, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and any other fronpage website you can think of as soon as they are up (should be right before the end of the debate). It will take literally a few minutes... but it will help.
I hope someone here at DKOS will put a link up to these sites as they come up. I'm sure Biden will wipe the floor with Lyin Ryan.. but the pundits want a horse race and will try their best to make him lose.
Let's not let that happen.