Talking Points Memo: Who Won the Final Presidential Debate?

Monday night’s final presidential debate showdown between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney had many asking, “who won?” Bill O’Reilly’s answer in his Talking Points Memo may surprise you. O’Reilly assessed, “Nobody won. But we, the American people, lost.”

The O’Reilly Factor host came to that conclusion after watching what he called a “boring” debate. He said it was filled with the “same old stuff” that lacked pointed questions by moderator Bob Schieffer. By asking general questions, O’Reilly observed that candidates were allowed to simply recite their talking points.

Earlier on CBS, O’Reilly made his case as to why the debates are not serving the public as well as they should be. If the point is

to give American voters a sense of their demeanor, not policies, then why not just have Dr. Phil interview them, O’Reilly quipped.

Charles Krauthammer vehemently disagrees with O’Reilly about the importance of debates and the role of a moderator. He said, “The role of the moderator is to play Alex Trebek. You ask the question [and] you get the hell out of the way.”

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O’Reilly theorized that Romney avoided asking President Obama about the Libya issue because he was trying to appeal to women voters by not appearing confrontational.

Finally, the word of the day: peevish. Which candidate appeared “peevish” throughout the debate? Find out below:

Talking Points Memo:

Charles Krauthammer on The O'Reilly Factor: