So who won the debate?

[bluesinG]

A poll of 486 uncommitted votes who watched the debate indicated that Obama won.

Specifically, 39% of the sample said that Obama won, 37% called it a tie, and only 24% said that McCain won.

BEFORE the debate, 36% of the sample said that they were leaning toward voting for Obama, 34% leaning toward McCain, and the rest not leaning in either direction.

AFTER the debate, 41% said that they were leaning toward Obama (a 5% increase), 29% leaning toward McCain (a 5% decrease), and the rest not leaning in either direction.

The poll also asked a lot of specific questions. Perhaps the most telling was that, after the debate, 79% of the sample said that Obama understood their needs and problems (an increase of 21% from before the debate), whereas only 41% said that McCain understood their needs and problems (an increase of only 5% from before the debate.

Frankly, it seems like a lot more people were influenced by the discussion of the economy--and Obama's plan to cut taxes for middle- and working-class people while also investing in health care and education--than by the discussion of foreign policy.

You can see the full poll results here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/2008Debate1.pdf