(adapted from The Fix)
1. Romney Helped Himself: Romney’s rise into a dead heat in national polling began almost immediately after the first debate.
2. Obama is a Fair-to-Good Debater: After his first debate disaster, Obama picked himself up off the political mat and put in solid performances, peaking in the final debate.
3. We care! The debates — or at least the first two — have been the most watched of any in more than a decade. More than 67 million people watched the first one, 80 million if you include online viewing. For reference, 111 million viewers watched the last Superbowl.
4. All Debates Aren’t Created Equally: As they say, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
5. Moderators Matter: Moderators became a partisan football within moments of the debate ending (or, in some cases, before it ended). One interesting caveat: Bob Schieffer, who moderated the final debate, does not appear to have become any part of the story, which, of course, is exactly how he wanted it.
