National Journal Declares Debate A “Tie” With Time Still On The Clock

With more than 20 minutes still to go in the October 16 presidential debate, the National Journal declared the town hall meeting between President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney a “tie.”

From the Journal article, which bore the headline, “Who Won the Debate? Obama, Romney Tie in Presidential Showdown”:

Who won? The cheap answer is Obama because his goal following a catastrophically sluggish first debate was so clear: Show some life. And, indeed, the president aggressively criticized Romney, labeling him a hypocrite and a liar who favors the rich at the expense of the middle class and poor.

But Romney got his licks in, too, wrapping a miserable economy around the incumbent's neck. “The middle class is getting crushed by the policies of a president who does not understand what it takes to get the economy working again,” Romney said.

Bottom line: Call it a tie. Obama and Romney scored points while turning off independent voters with their point-scoring.