To my mind, Obama dominated Romney tonight in every single way: in substance, manner, style, and personal appeal. He came back like a lethal, but restrained predator. He was able to defend his own record, think swiftly on his feet, and his Benghazi answer was superb. He behaved like a president. He owned the presidency. And Romney? Well, he has no answers on the math question and was exposed. He was vulnerable on every social issue, especially immigration. And he had no real answer to the question of how he'd be different from George W Bush.

I'm excitable—but sometimes politics is about emotion as well as reason. And my view is that Obama halted Romney's momentum in its tracks and his performance will bring women voters in particular flooding back. He's just more persuasive. On watching with the sound off—apart from weird gaps in the C-SPAN coverage—Obama did not grin like Biden; he smiled confidently, leaning forward. Within 20 minutes, Romney looked flush and a little schvitzy.

Game, set, and match to Obama. He got it; he fought back; he gave us all more than ample reason to carry on the fight.

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