First presidential debate was judged on performance, not issues

Once again, Denver was center stage in the fight for the White House. However, there was no spotlight on LGBT issues during the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney, by most accounts, emerged the winner at the Oct. 3 debate, hosted by the University of Denver, not because his policies are sure to reset the economy or because his zingers appeared to resonate more with voters, but because the former governor of Massachusetts appeared to control the debate by shutting down the president and moderator more often, and keeping up the attack on the Democratic incumbent.

Obama, meanwhile, hung his head and often appeared to be biting his tongue.

While LGBT equality has been a high point in Obama administration – passage of a national hate crime law, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the president announcing his support of same-sex marriage – those and other issues received little time.

And that’s OK according to GOProud’s Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia.

“Tonight makes it clear, whether you are gay or straight, if jobs and the economy is your number one issue – Mitt Romney should be your candidate,” LaSalvia said in a statement released after the debate.

But Stonewall Democratic Executive Director Jerame Davis said Romney failed to deliver a concrete vision of the country.

“Mitt Romney came to tonight’s debate prepared to take pot shots at President Obama while dodging questions about the specifics of his vague plans,” he said. “In contrast, President Obama addressed the American people directly and laid out a vision for the next four years. Romney’s choices – style over substance, attacks over proposals, platitudes over policies – speak to his character and the type of leader he would be.”

Still, the Romney candidacy, which has suffered setback after setback since the August Republican National Convention, potentially breathed new life into the race for the White House at the University of Denver, a private college in the critical swing state of Colorado. Although the impact of the first debate – viewed by approximately 60 million viewers – will not be known for several days.

“He wins the style points,” said Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, on CNN. “But that’s not what’s been dogging his campaign. What is dogging his campaign are the policies that he doubled down on tonight.”

David Axelrod, one of Obama’s most trusted advisers, said Romney was prepared for battle.

“There’s no doubt he was well rehearsed, he was very well rehearsed,” Axelrod said. “He’s been rehearsing since June. I was not at all surprised. He’s a very good debater. I’ve talked long before tonight, Romney is particularly good on the attack, and he enjoys it. He has no compulsion about walking away from facts, walking away from half statements, and that’s already served him well.”

Romney’s top strategist told reporters, after the debate, Romney proved he was ready to be commander-in-chief.

“Tonight, you saw one person up there on stage who is ready and eager to be the president of the United States,” Stuart Stevens said.

Stevens went on to dismiss polling numbers that showed his candidate behind.

“Those of us who do campaigns for a living – and I’ve probably done 30-plus campaigns – the idea of being two points behind in a state is where you want to be when you’re running against an incumbent.”