Romney took it to the President last night and now comes the morning after, so what happens? The Democrats were devastated after the debate. They really didn’t know what to do. They were late to the spin room, shell shocked and seeking a message. The debate was that overwhelming. This AM they need to regroup. They will have their talking points and it will be like this. Romney misspoke. He didn’t give details. He was too general. They will try and corner Romney on lack of specifics. They are in damage control and the best way to do it is try and turn this back to focus on “Romney’s faults”.
The Republicans will be upbeat. Romney fund raising will have a record day. He lifted the spirit and they believe again. There will polls that report who won. As each comes out the numbers saying Romney won will grow as people become confident enough to say it. The general polls will show over the weekend a tightening and that this is a race again.
The keys to watch are Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Colorado. Florida was showing a slight Obama lead. I suspect the way Romney clearly articulated medicare and Obama’s failure to answer the charge he proposed cuts in it will be big. I would not surprised to see Romney take a slight edge in Florida. In Virginia and Colorado the race was almost dead even. I suspect here that Romney presenting himself so presidential will ease the way for undecided voters to move slightly. Look for Romney here to gain some. Ohio is a different animal. I don’t think this debate moves much there as Romney needs to address the auto industry bailout better.
Bottom line I see a tightening slightly but still an electoral college edge for Obama. However, Romney regained his footing and is moving again. Messaging now and the two additional debates make it possible for him. Next up, Biden versus Ryan. That should be a real slugfest as Biden knows he needs to attack and Ryan is tough and unafraid. Buckle up next Thursday night.