Who Won the First Debate?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 | 10:02 AM

By Sarah Scully

The immediate buzz in the press tent was that McCain had won but that it wouldn't have much of an impact.
The numbers coming in from focus groups and straw polls of voters indicated a win for Obama. Both campaigns, of course stormed the Spin Room after the debate claiming victory.
In the intervening days, the majority of press has settled on calling it a draw.
There may not have been a knock-out punch from either side but polls (and Intrade) have moved in Obama's favor since Friday's debate. That said, his campaign is all too aware of the precarious nature of polling. When we asked him about a potential debate bounce, chief strategist, David Axelrod told us: " if I listened too closely to polls I would have jumped off a high building about a year ago when they said we were thirty points behind for the nomination."

Stay tuned for our highlights episode from the debate, including interviews with Tucker Bounds, Howard Dean and Politico bloggers Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin.