(Week of 10/20/2012) Public assessment of last week’s town hall-style presidential debate was very different from the judgment expressed after the first debate. The latest Economist/YouGov Poll shows that, among registered voters, the President was seen as the winner of that second debate — and by 17 points.
After the first debate, Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee, was nearly five times as likely as the President to be perceived as the debate winner among registered voters. This week, the President was helped by the nearly unanimous view of his own supporters that he had done the better job in the second debate.
But there were few gains for the President in post-debate opinion: just as many voters said the debate impacted their views of Romney as of the President. More were affected positively than negatively about each man.
And when it comes to their overall ratings of the candidates, there is little difference, though the President retains a slight edge: just about half have unfavorable views of each nominee, just under half are favorable. Last week, the President also held a very slight advantage in those ratings.
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association