Joe Klein,
Time magazine: “Barack Obama lost it. I mean, he got his butt kicked. It was, in fact, one of the most inept performances I’ve ever seen by a sitting President. . . . Obama’s cool was ice cold. It was 30 minutes into the debate, by my count, before he mentioned an actual human being. Romney was talking about actual people who were ‘crushed’ and ‘buried’ —
pace Joe Biden — and ‘hurting’ in his very first answer.”
Ed Schultz of MSNBC: “I think [[Obama) was off his game. I was absolutely stunned tonight.”
Andrew Sullivan of the
Daily Beast: “He choked. He lost. He may even have lost the election tonight.”
Bill Maher, HBO: “Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter.”
Howard Fineman, editorial director of the
Huffington Post: “It’s a big wake up call to the Obama campaign with 34 days to go.”
[
source]
Ron Fournier,
National Journal: "President Obama fell victim Wednesday night to high expectations, a short fuse, and a hungry challenger.... The president looked peeved and flat as he carried a conversation, for the first time in four years, with somebody telling him he’s wrong."
[
source]
Mark Halprin,
Time Magazine: [Obama] lacked fire and inspiration.... seemed more nervous and tentative than his challenger.....Was frequently scattered and uncertain, almost passive. At other times, tired and disengaged......rarely spoke directly to the American people...... He defended his deficit record by blaming George Bush and claiming credit for spending cuts, then wandered around the topic, getting uncharacteristically lost in the weeds.
[
source]