Obama choked. Big time.

Dude, you got off easy

I realize Romney lied [1], over [2]and over [3]. I realize that the Democrats are trying to point that out, and the president is trying to spin [4]his way out of it. And some people actually think Obama "won [5]" the debate. But debates are about image as well as substance, about appearing confident and presidential -- and speaking in a way that reaches the average undecided voter. That means using stories and simplifying things and delivering information in an understandable, linear way. Romney did that, beautifully. Obama did not.

I kept trying to find reasons to think Obama was doing well, but after an hour or so it was like watching a bad boxing match where one of the fighters is so punch drunk you with the ref would just step in and end it. And that's scary -- Romney is a dangerous candidate whose vision for the nation is as bad as GW Bush. Our guy needs to do a little better here.

And the killer is, he could have done it so easily [6]:

Obama let him sail through 90 minutes with no mention of General Motors, choice, the 47%, union rights, dumping patients in the emergency room, the phony $716 million cut in Medicare, privatizing Social Security, Paul Ryan’s budget, Bain — you name it.

It's disturbing -- Obama can be such an inspiring speaker.I don't think he lost the election last night -- nothing that dramatic happened. But he could have pretty much clinched the victory if he'd been on his game.

And next time, can we have a real moderator who doesn't let Romney stomp on him like last year's grapes?