Students' Opinions Unchanged After Monday's Debate

Monday marked the end of the 2012 presidential debates. A majority of polls of both registered and undecided voters found President Barack Obama as the clear winner Monday night.

CBS News' instant polls of undecided debate watchers showed that 53 percent favored Obama while only 23 percent thought Governor Mitt Romney won the debate. The last 24 percent thought the candidates tied.

"I believe that on the first debate Romney came out with guns blazing, made a statement and Obama was put off by that," said Matt Cohen, a junior majoring in Studio and Jazz Guitar.

"But in the last two debates, Obama rebounded well and ended with a stronger statement. He had more development on what he wants to do instead of criticizing on the opponent," said Cohen.

"The debates didn't swing me either way, but I got a lot of insight as to how easily the candidates can lose their [cool]," said Brian Kim, a junior and Democrat majoring in business.

U.S. News' online poll of readers who visited their online live coverage, found that 64 percent thought Obama did better while the other 36 percent supported Romney.

"It was the last debate, so it's the last chance for candidates to get their last shots in at each other," said Reed Semcken, a junior majoring in Business and English. "Neither candidates answered the questions they were being asked and I don't think they attempted to answer those questions. Obama just said his sob stories and Romney kept being vague," said Semcken, a registered Republican.

In CNN's poll of registered voters who watched the final debate, results showed that 40 percent were for Romney while 48 percent were for the president. At first, CNN's poll found that there was no clear winner after Monday night's performance.

"I think that especially since it was the third debate, the impact was probably minimal, certainly it may have helped some undecided voters but I think voters are weighting their decision on domestic issues rather than foreign policy," explained Jared Ginsburg, a registered Republican and Political Science major.

"I realized that I spent an hour and a half watching straight bickering and nonsense. Sure, the content was political, but their temperament was ridiculous," said Kim.

"The debate did not sway my opinion, because I feel like althought it provides a valuable perspective on the decision of each candidate and it's a healthy method of disputing problems, it's still a show for an hour and a half," said Adam Feisst, a democrat majoring in Business and Communication.

Those who were polled by CNN said they weren't swayed either way because of each candidate's performance.

"I'm already a decided voter, so the debate did not sway my decision," said Ginsburg, "I felt that President Obama was the aggressor last night. I think that his campaign felt that he needed to take that approach given Romney's recent rise in the polls, especially in key battleground states. I felt that Governor Romney took a consilatory tone last night for the same reason."

"[The debate] doesn't apply real details. It's just a show not something that will change voters opinions," said Feisst, "We already have our own leanings even if you're an undecided voter."

"I wanted either guy tell me why they should be president and not why the other guy shouldn't," said Semcken.