DENVER — In the first presidential debate of the fall campaign, neither Mitt Romney nor President Obama appeared to land a knockout blow or commit the sort of serious blunder that would instantly change the presidential race.
The Republican challenger held his own during a 90-minute encounter that revolved almost exclusively around domestic issues.
Romney, offering sharper answers than Obama and seizing control of the debate at several points, was never ruffled, repeatedly predicting that Obama would provide more “trickle-down government” if he were reelected in November. He defended himself against charges from Obama that his tax cut plan would favor the wealthy.
For his part, Obama tried to bury his opponent in the very thing that Romney is said to crave: data. Repeatedly referring to arguments offered by his leading surrogate, former President Clinton, Obama tried to rebut Romney’s claim that he could balance the budget while cutting tax rates across the board and increasing military spending by $2 billion.
“Math, common sense and our history shows us that's not a recipe for job growth,” Obama said.
But Obama sometimes appeared to struggle to offer fluid descriptions of his own policies — including on healthcare. His campaign appeared to acknowledge that it hadn’t been his best night.
