Does anyone think obama won the debate

Those impressions might change in the coming days, as coverage of the big event shapes and reshapes voters' impressions. But standing on the stage alongside McCain, Obama helped close the credibility gap that remains the most significant obstacle standing between him and the White House.

The same can't be said for McCain. To be sure, he had impressive moments, and more than once, he landed a punch by citing his experience. And most viewers probably came away from the night thinking McCain was more qualified to be commander-in-chief. But Obama's challenge wasn't to best McCain on that score.

Rather, it was to show himself to be qualified enough, much as Ronald Reagan needed to do in his debate against Jimmy Carter. Finally, McCain needed to reassure the country that he was steady, temperamentally suited to lead. And on that front, the score was mixed. McCain couldn't hide his disdain for Obama. He refused to make eye contact with him throughout most of the evening, and in reaction shots he often looked agitated, even angry, that he was being forced to share the stage with someone he clearly thinks is his inferior.

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Republicans and independents are significantly more likely to say both candidates did equally well, or to say neither candidate won, or to simply not be able to respond. Thus, it appears that overall, in their summation of the debate "season" in this year's campaign, Americans may be giving as much weight to Romney's strong performance in the first debate as to their perceptions that Obama won two of the three debates.

Despite his poorly rated performance in the first debate, Obama came back and was rated the "winner" in the second and third debates.

These two victories appear to have enabled him to neutralize the impact of his poor outing in the first debate, with the two candidates ending up in a virtual draw when Americans judge all three debates together. This mirrors the closeness of the race overall. There are no more presidential debates left, and no more major public events in the 12 days left before Election Day. Both candidates are campaigning ceaselessly, and voters in selected swing states in particular continue to be inundated with direct mail, phone calls, and Internet entreaties, and to be exposed to almost continuous television and radio commercials for the two candidates.

The debates no doubt played an important role in the unfolding of the presidential campaign, the ultimate outcome of which remains to be determined. Sign up to get Election news stories from Gallup as soon as they are published. Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of cell phone respondents and landline respondents per 1, national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region.

Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday. Demographic weighting targets are based on the March Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.