Political Link List: October 4, 2012

Today’s list is all about last night’s debate.

The Washington Post: Romney was a moderate in the debate. But would he be a moderate as president? (by Ezra Klein)

Key passage: “Obama aside, the question the debates raised is which Romney voters will be choosing if they mark his name on the ballot. The Romney who endorsed the House Republican budget and chose its author as his running mate? Or the Romney who seemed to have no use for the Ryan budget and barely mentioned his running mate? The Romney who wants to cut $7 trillion from the budget over the next decade? Or the Romney who won’t name any spending cuts beyond PBS? The Romney who says he wants to give every state the opportunity to do what Massachusetts did in health care, which would mean handing over quite a bit in federal funding to fund those efforts, just as the federal government funded Massachusetts’ efforts? Or the Romney whose health-care plan spans less than 400 words and includes no plausible mechanisms by which other states could copy Massachusetts’ success? The Romney who talks movingly of bipartisan compromise? Or the Romney who says he wouldn’t accept a $1 in tax increases even if paired with $10 in spending cuts?”

NPR: Romney Goes On Offense, Pays For It In First Wave Of Fact Checks (by Mark Memmott and Scott Montgomery)

Key passage: “Overall, it was a debate packed with facts, a wonk's delight. From the very first remarks, with President Obama saying 5 million jobs have been created in the private sector over the last 30 months, the debate was very number focused. So there were some things to check. And because Romney made more factual assertions, he's getting dinged more — at least in the early hours after the debate — by the fact checkers.”

New York Times: In Fallout After Debate, Obama Asks, Which Mitt Was That? (by Mark Landler and Peter Baker)

Key passage: “In trying to turn the tables on Mr. Romney, the president’s team was hoping to salvage a debate performance widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike. Aides described Mr. Obama as out of practice at debating and said he made a conscious decision not to bring up some of the campaign’s favorite attack lines of recent months, a decision they left little doubt disappointed them.”

New York Times: Romney’s Electoral Challenge, and More on Debate Instant Polls (by Nate Silver)

Key passage: “A bit of caution, however, about the predictive power of those polls showing Mr. Romney having clearly won the debate on Wednesday. As I mentioned after the debate, I had not come across a study on the relationship between instant-reaction debate polls and the eventual effect on the horse race polls. So I decided to do a quick one myself.”