CNN Poll: Nearly half of debate watchers say Obama won showdown
(CNN) - Give the slight edge to President Obama.
Thanks to an aggressive performance and a couple of zingers, a plurality of debate watchers questioned in a national survey say that the president won his final faceoff with Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
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But a CNN/ORC International poll conducted right after Monday night's faceoff here at Lynn University in south Florida also indicates that the debate may be a draw when it comes to whether it will affect the choice of voters who watched the showdown, and Romney held his own with the president on the commander-in-chief test.
And according to the survey, unlike previous debates, there was a big gender gap, with women responding much more favorably to Obama's performance and men giving a small advantage to Romney.
Forty-eight percent of registered voters who watched Monday night's third presidential debate say that Obama won the showdown, with 40% saying Romney did the better job in a debate dedicated to foreign policy. The president's eight-point advantage over the former Massachusetts governor came among a debate audience that was slightly more Republican than the country as a whole and is just within the survey's sampling error.
Nearly six in ten watchers say that Obama did a better job in the debate than they had expected, 15 points higher than the 44% who said that the GOP challenger had a better than expected debate performance.
The president was critical of Romney right out of the gate, saying a few minutes into the debate that "a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not Al Qaeda. You said Russia. And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the cold war's been over for 20 years."
And a moment later, he slammed Romney, saying "I know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong."
Obama's aggressive strategy led the debate audience to give him a narrow 51%-46% edge on leadership, but it may have come at the cost of likeability.
"A majority of debate watchers said that President Obama seemed to be the stronger leader," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But on the question of likeability, the two candidates are essentially tied on a trait that has generally been an advantage for Obama. That's probably due to the fact that two-thirds of debate watchers felt that Obama spent more time than Mitt Romney on the attack."
But according to the poll, both candidates were seen by debate watchers as able to handle the responsibilities of commander in chief - an important threshold for Romney since he is not the incumbent. But men and women see the commander in chief question very differently.
Majorities of both genders saw Obama as capable of handling that role, but women were split roughly 50/50 on whether Romney had proven himself on that measure, while men responded well to Romney's performance. Women also saw Obama as the stronger leader; men saw Romney as having the edge on leadership. As a result, women saw Obama as the winner of the debate by 22 points, while a plurality of men saw Romney as the victor on Monday night.
Bottom line: The debate appears to be a draw when it comes to affecting the vote of those who tuned in to the faceoff.
Half of those questioned say that the debate did not affect how they would vote, with 25% saying they are more likely to vote for Romney and 24% saying they are more likely to cast a ballot for Obama.
The sample of debate-watchers in the poll was 34% Democratic and 30% Republican.
"That indicates that the sample of debate watchers is about five points more Republican than polls taken among all Americans throughout 2012, so the debate audience was more Republican than the general public," added Holland. "This poll does not and cannot reflect the views of all Americans. It only represents the views of people who watched the debate."
The CNN poll was conducted by ORC, with 448 registered voters who watched the debate questioned by telephone after the end of the October 22nd debate. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
By a 53%-23% margin, a CBS News poll conducted after the third debate of uncommitted voters also indicated that Obama won the showdown, with nearly one in four saying the debate was a tie.
"The second debate, the president clearly won and yet people came out saying that Romney would do a better job handling the economy. In this final debate the president won again, yet the poll clearly suggests that Romney passed the commander in chief test," says CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, who advised both Democratic and Republican presidents. "What is striking is that neither the second debate, or the third debate seemed to change the overall race, at least in the early hours."
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President Obama won. Hands down. I want this President in charge when we are faced with our next crisis.
Romney will turn to the likes of Cheney and cronies for advice when our next crisis comes and lead us once again to disaster.
So, Obama won.
What's with CNN? That's the second debate in a row that their own poll showed Obama winning clearly, and both times they put up a headline that it was essentially a toss-up, or too close to call.
If a Presidential election ends up as 48% to 40%, it's a landslide. CNN isn't being honest here, most likely so they don't get labeled as the "liberal media".
I think Romney just said he is voting for Obama tonight. The chump choked and how fake he is came to light tonight.
What a comeback by President Obama after that slow start a few weeks ago. Great quality of a leader.
Obama won.
@truth hurts
You must really know the meaning of truth hurts because Obama did not go on an apology tour and that "myth" has been debunked a ridiculously crazy number of times. Romney basically agrees with everything Obama is doing and so does America. Obama was presidential and poised, Romney was weak and dodgy. The poll above is accurate. Obama took this debate.
how can there be such a small gap in the poll??! Are the American people that dumb that they can't tell how close Romney is to bush?!!
...And the truth is that Barack Obama clearly won this debate. Is this going to be like the last debate poll CNN had to denounce because the parameters were skewed and Republicans were oversampled?
An eight point spread in the numbers is too close to call? I don't think so. What's with you guys? Seems you're favoring Romney. Obama won that debate according to your poll results so why not just say so?
How many times did Willard either agree with the President's current policies or admit the President was doing a good job on foreign policy? Why is Romney running again?
Well, once again, the President faced off with the shape-shifter. We know it is impossible to win a contest of this nature agaist someone who simply refuses to hold a single position, on well, anything, for 20 minutes. But Mr. Romney managed to mangle Middle Eastern geography (Syria and Iran sharing a border for example- which they don't) as an added bonus, and he managed to actually agree with every single policy initiative of President Obama- offering not one single critique or change.....
Absolutely amazing.
Given Mr. Obama's opponent simply stands for nothing, and made no sense, whatsoever, it is clear that (once again), Mr. Obama won.
Sorry GOP, I really fell your pain (harrruumph!) NOT!
Too close to call? It COULD mean it was even, or it COULD mean Obama won by double what it says. Sounds like to me that the President was the clear winner here.
I think Romney will vote for Obama tomorrow. I might go tomorrow too. Who else is coming?
Obama's continued sarcasm is extremely unappealing. It' will be good to get a President, like Mitt Romney ... who is Presidential.
President Obama projected as a very convincing and competent leader.
its because all republicans voted on the CNN poll, they stated that on tv.
Obama's personal attacks were petty. He seemed destined to continue to avoid real policy and focus on personal attacks. Romney was above that. He spoke to the real issues. He was the leader tonight. Petty doesn't play well on live TV.
Truth hurts must live in a world under his/her own. To even suggest that Obama went on an apology tour is absolute BS and most Amerians know it. Romney made himself look foolish and untruthful.
The margin is B*I*G or wide enough to distinguish the W*I*N*N*E*R & the L*O*S*E*R it's quite Open; Obama Won!
Fellow Americans ... forget the polls and check the facts. Lying may get one elected, but it won't get a failed one re-elected.
Math check? How is 8%I diff not within 4.5 margin of error?
Obama won beyond the margin of error and they say it is too close to call?
Clear winner: the commander-in-chief
Obama never apologized. Check for yourself... Another etch-a-sketch by romney
I think that Romney said he endorses Obama. Good choice Gubna.