Granted, Romney came across a lot stronger than I'd expected, and Obama's body language needs some work. He acted like he was off-camera when Romney was speaking, and he didn't make much eye contact with the cameras. But Obama didn't lose, and this isn't over.
The main factor in play is going to be the post-evaluation. Romney threw out some red meat for his followers, but also a lot for the fact checkers and the Obama campaign to chew on over the next few days. Obama didn't get many hard hits in, but he doesn't have to. Romney was all over the place, made a lot of claims and commitments that he's going to have to answer to tomorrow.
Short diary, and I'm going to bed, but I definitely don't agree with the narrative that's spinning up that Romney won. I feel that Romney practiced a lot harder for this debate, and did come across much stronger than I'd expected, but while he looked good on stage, he's still going to have to answer for what he said. He crusaded as Reach-Across-the-Aisle Massachusetts Governor Mitt, as Bain Hatchet-man Mitt, as pro-education, pro-regulation, pro-whatever-the-hell Mitt, and as Mr Magic-Plan-That-I-Can't-Tell-You Mitt.
Secondly, the media really wants to get Romney back in the race, it gives them something to talk about.
Third, Obama did let a lot of Romney-speak slide. He could have pushed back harder, but that's not his style. There's only so much manure a person can shovel away in 90 minutes. That's what the fact-checkers are there for.
Fourth, Obama always does better under pressure. He clearly didn't bring his A-game today, but I have no doubt he'll bring it when he needs to.
I do have to admit that my favorite moment was when Romney used the word "boon". I also liked how much he bounced during his closing statement - he does this wierd sproing every few seconds to show how strongly he feels.