Lady Binders

++The Great New Girl Band from Massachusetts. 

Finally, women's issues were raised and President Obama linked the health issues to economic ones and the Lilly Ledbetter Bill and educational opportunities.

Mitt Romney tried to nail President Obama on the failure about passing the immigration reform past, again lying about the President's supermajority, which lasted all of seven weeks. Obama strongly countered on McCain backing away from the bill and that he had to take measures himself to alleviate the situation of undocumented immigrants who are in school and have served in the military. By the end of the exchange, it is hard to see how Romney won any Hispanic support.

Romney was obviously rattled by an alert,energetic and assertive President Obama. Even when he tried to show how he tried to hire women through affirmative action by looking through "Lady Binders" it came across condescending.

Obama scored frequently by raising Romney's experience at Bain capital and his banking in the Cayman Islands. Romney's comeback that the President should look at his pension plan--an allusion to Chinese investments-the President shot back he never looks because his isn't as big as yours.

The exchange that set Obama apart from Romney was on Libya. Romney threw his best punch and President Obama methodically answered and then said he had called it a terrorist act--which Romney disputed but Candy Crowley had to set him straight.

Tone, manner, optics and presidential demeanor President Obama scored big tonight. Obama clearly got into Romney's head tonight. In the aftermath President Obama greeted the crowd. Romney greeted his wife and walked up to Candy Crowley and left the arena, leaving his wife behind.

This was the Obama his supporters needed and he came through. The immediate polling results showed that the audiences of the various networks believed Obama won the debate. I thought he smashed Romney and stripped the veneer off him.

The most puzzling part of the debate was Romney's tax plan. He tried to sell it as a middle class tax plan that wouldn't cut taxes on the rich. It was a big word salad that no one understood. Obama was straight forward in how many taxes he has cut and how many times he cut middle class taxes and those for small business. 

Romney always seem to go for cheap political points. I don't know whether that's for ads but they were not persuasive. He did not come off as very likable. He came across as snide and condescending, exactly the character the Obama ads portrayed in the early part of the campaign. Obama finally saved 47% for last when he knew Romney could not answer.

But to Romney's credit, he seemed to have lapsed into the referendum election question by detailing all of Obama's failures. But it sees to me he can't anymore with his choice of running mate. Obama tied Romney to the Republican obstructionism and the failure to pass permanent middle class tax relief because of the GOP's insistence on tax cuts for the wealthy.

I think people believed Obama's characterization of Romney's tax plan and that the arithmetic doesn't add up but Obama started getting into the weeds where no one could follow him.

Romney supporters tomorrow will spin the debate that Romney presented a full indictment of the Obama Administration and was an alternative. Early polling tells us that yet again Americans believe that President Obama is best for the middle class. I am not so sure that Romney's begging for understanding of his business experience sold anyone but the rich.

Hopefully, within a few days the polls will reflect both the President and the Vice President's performance.