CBS NEWS POLL For Immediate Release: October 3, 2012

By Two to One, Uncommitted Voters Pick Romney as Winner of First Debate October 3, 2012 Immediately after the debate, CBS News interviewed a nationally representative sample of debate watchers assembled by GfKs Knowledge Panel who were uncommitted voters voters who are either undecided about who to vote for or who say they could still change their minds. By a 2 to 1 margin, uncommitted debate watchers said Mitt Romney won the debate. 46% said Romney won, while just 22% said President Obama won. 32% called it a tie. Who Won the Debate? (Among uncommitted voters who watched debate) Mitt Romney 46% Barack Obama 22 Tie 32 61% of these uncommitted voters describe themselves as politically independent, 18% identify as Republicans and 22% are Democrats. More than half said their image of Romney improved as a result of the debate. Most said their view of Mr. Obama remained about the same. The Debates Effect on Opinions of the Candidates (Among uncommitted voters who watched debate) Barack Obama Mitt Romney Better 13% 56% Worse 17 11 No change 69 32 Handling the Issues Uncommitted debate watchers saw Mitt Romney as the winner on handling the economy and the deficit, just as they did before the debate. These voters also think Romney will do a better job on taxes, a reversal from before the debate, when uncommitted voters gave the President the advantage on that. The President still leads on Medicare. Would do the Best Job Handling? (Among uncommitted voters who watched debate) After the Debate Before the Debate Obama Romney Obama Romney The economy 39% 60 39% 54 The budget deficit 31% 68 26% 66 Taxes 47% 52 52% 40 Medicare 53% 45 56% 35 Energy policy 49% 50 n/a n/a

Heading into this debate, the President had a clear advantage over his Republican rival on empathy among these uncommitted voters, but Romney has narrowed the gap. After the debate, 63% say Romney cares about their needs and problems (up from 30% before the debate). 69% say the President cares about their needs and problems, up from 53% before the debate. 78% now see Romney as a strong leader, a nearly 20-point increase from before the debate. Mr. Obama improved on this measure too. After the debate, more uncommitted voters say each candidate has made it clear what he would do if elected. Obama and Romney: Candidate Qualities (Among uncommitted voters who watched debate) Barack Obama Now Pre-debate Now Cares about your needs and problems Yes 69% 53% No 31 43 36 Has strong qualities of leadership Yes 59% 47% No 40 50 21 Has made it clear what he would do if elected Yes 65% 35% No 34 61 44

Mitt Romney Pre-debate 63% 68 78% 39 54% 74 30% 59% 22%

Uncommitted voters include both undecided voters and those who say they have a candidate preference, but could still change their minds. Before the debate, 23% favored President Obama and 22% favored Romney, while 50% were still undecided. But while voter preference for Mr. Obama changed little, after the debate support for Romney increased 12 points. Vote Among Uncommitted Debate Watchers (Among uncommitted voters who watched debate) Post-debate Pre-debate Obama 25% 23% Romney 34 22 Still undecided 35 50
This CBS News poll was conducted online using GfKs web-enabled KnowledgePanel, a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 523 uncommitted voters who have agreed to watch the debate. Uncommitted voters are those who dont yet know who they will vote for, or who have chosen a candidate but may still change their minds. GfKs KnowledgePanel participants are initially chosen scientifically by a random selection of telephone numbers and residential addresses. Persons in selected households are then invited by telephone or by mail to participate in the web-enabled KnowledgePanel. For those who agree to participate, but do not already have Internet access, GfK provides at no cost a laptop and ISP connection. This is a scientifically representative poll of uncommitted voters reaction to the presidential debate. The margin of sampling error could be plus or minus 4 percentage points for results based on the entire sample.

CBS NEWS POLL 1st Presidential Debate October 3rd, 2012 PostQ1. Which candidate do you think did the best job or won tonight's debate? Barack Obama Mitt Romney Tie UNCOMMITTED VOTERS WHO WATCHED THE DEBATE 22% 46 32

PostQ3. After tonight's debate, has your opinion of Barack Obama: Changed for the better Changed for the worse Not changed Refused 13% 17 69 1

PostQ4. After tonight's debate, has your opinion of Mitt Romney: Changed for the better Changed for the worse Not changed Refused 56% 11 32 1

PostQ6. Now that the debate is over, do you think Barack Obama Cares about the needs and problems of people like you? After Debate Before Debate Yes 69% 53% No 31 43 Refused 1 4 Has strong qualities of leadership? Yes 59% No 40 Refused 1 47% 50 4

Has made it clear what he would do if re-elected? Yes 65% 35% No 34 61 Refused 1 4

PostQ7. Now that the debate is over, do you think Mitt Romney Cares about the needs and problems of people like you? After Debate Before Debate Yes 63% 30% No 36 68 Refused 1 2 Has strong qualities of leadership? Yes 78% No 21 Refused 2 Has made it clear what he would do if elected? Yes 54% No 44 Refused 1 59% 39 2 22% 74 3

PostQ8. Which candidate would do a better job handling each? UNCOMMITTED After Obama The economy 39% The budget deficit 31% Taxes 47% Medicare 53% Energy policy 49% VOTERS WHO WATCHED THE DEBATE Debate Before Debate Romney Obama Romney 60 39% 54 68 26% 66 52 52% 40 45 56% 35 50 ---

PostQ9. If the 2012 presidential election were being held today would you vote for? Barack Obama and Joe Biden Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan Other Depends/Undecided Refused After Debate 25% 34 4 35 1 Before Debate 23% 22 5 50 0

PostQ10. Is your mind made up or is it still too early to say for sure? UNCOMMITTED VOTERS WHO WATCHED THE DEBATE WITH CANDIDATE CHOICE Mind made up 39% Too early to say for sure 61

Total Respondents:

523