President Obama is generally considered to have done well in the second presidential debate, which followed his disastrous performance in the first debate.
It seems like he has also persuaded several of the undecided Long Island voters who posed questions at the second presidential debate, hosted at Hofstra University. (As was noted at the time, quite a few of the questioners appeared to be Jewish.)
Mother Jones recently caught up with five of the 10 debate questioners in hurricane-battered Long Island. Four of those five say they have made up their mind in favor of the president, including 20-year-old college student Jeremy Epstein who had asked Romney how he would reassure him and his parents that he would be able to find a job after graduation.
Epstein actually liked Mitt Romney’s answer to his debate question but was won over to Obama’s side in the third and final debate, which was focused on foreign policy.
Here’s what Epstein told Mother Jones:
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I feel that both Mitt and Obama have completely different paths for our country. I think [Romney] would undo a lot of the work the president has done in the few years of his presidency. We’re already on one track; let’s give it a chance and see where we are in another four years. I liked Romney’s answer to my question better—his business experience swayed me, but the third debate swayed me towards Obama. That was a commander-in-chief test. Romney looked uncomfortable; he didn’t look presidential like he did in first debate. How are you gonna lead if you’re uncomfortable?
Obama also now has the support of questioner Barry Green, who told Mother Jones: "First of all, my wife would kill me if I voted for Romney."
Along with his concerns about mariticide, Green also does not like Romney’s running mate, calling Rep. Paul Ryan "the utmost stupid choice of vice president because he’s so totally right wing and so totally anti-women’s rights." Green’s also concerned about Supreme Court nominations.
But Green does seem like a genuine swing voter. "There’s part of me that hopes it ends up a tie and we end up with Romney and Biden," he said.
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