Wonky Debate News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

At the end of the day -- and by the way, and by the way, by the way, the health care industry will be appetizing tonight on this program. >> shannon: debate moderators frequently become part of the highlight reel. let's break it down. fox news media analyst, hoechst of "media buzz," howard kurtz. >> that might have been the dramatic high point. it was a substantive, wonky debate. they didn't force time limits which kept the trains on track but may also have limited any unscripted or viral moments. don lemon, the liberal opinion host on the panel, asked questions blatantly from the left promoti...

>> reporter: romney's comments about the 47% have taken a toll on his campaign. even before that leaked video polls showed americans think he favors the wealthy over the middle-class. he clearly wanted to try and change that perception. >> the people who are having a hard time right now are middle-income americans. under the president's policies, middle-income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle-income families. >> reporter: but the president said his rival doesn't have the right solutions, and that romney can't keep ...

President obama's most ardent supporters admit he turned in a lackluster debate performance last night. >> and now we'll see if mitt romney can capitalize on his strong showing. abc's karen travers live in denver where the debates took place. >> reporter: good morning. there were missed opportunities for president obama and mitt romney. wonky debate, in-depth policy talk. mitt romney came out very aggressive, very prepared, and put president obama on defense for most of the 90 minutes. president obama and mitt romney finally went head-to-head, right out of the gate, the candidates boiled down ...

>> here is abc's senior washington editor rick klein. rick, thank you for joining us. what is your overwhelmingly biggest observation from the debate last night? >> this was mitt romney's night, no question about it. he was sharp, specific, sustained, a plan of attack and went after barack obama every way he could. holding him accountable for the obama record. we haven't seen that too much in this campaign. there have been so many personal attacks, so many back and forths. he was able to say look this is what you promised four years ago, this is what you delivered on, where is the gap? here's ...

Going back and looking whether or not he really does, what is mitt romney's record on big bird. >> moving on to something a little more substantive than "sesame street." i mean, you're not going to find a lot of people out there who thought the president won last night. he really by all accounts. both side of the aisle, a lackluster kind of dry, flat, performance. is that what you are hearing as well? >> rob, the people that think the president won were the ones that were die-hards in his corner or the people that are getting a paycheck from the campaign office in chicago. the president came o...