U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney discuss a point during Wednesday’s debate.JIM URQUHART/Reuters
MEMORABLE BODY-LANGUAGE EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE TWO CANDIDATES
Romney: "I don't have a tax cut."
Obama: [looks down, and smirks]
Obama: "We do best when the middle class does well."
Romney: [looks up, and smirks]
Romney: "Virtually everything he has just said about my tax cut is inaccurate."
PROMISES, PROMISES
Romney: "Obamacare – I'd get rid of that. I like PBS. I like Big Bird. I like you too, Jim [Jim Lehrer of PBS, the moderator] but I'm going to get rid of that."
BEST-PREPARED ZINGER
Obama: "When I came into office, we had … two wars that were paid for by a credit card."
Romney: "Try and get a mortgage these days!"
OF INTEREST TO CANADA
Romney: "I'll bring that pipeline in from Canada."
FAILED ATTEMPT AT LIKEABILITY
Romney: [Recognizing that Wednesday was Mr. Obama's 20th wedding anniversary] "I'm sure this is the most romantic place you could imagine, here with me."
FIRST FUNNY LINE
Obama: "Under Governor Romney's plan, Donald Trump is a small businessman. And I know Donald Trump doesn't like to think of himself as a small anything."
MOST INVOKED FIGURE (OR INTEREST GROUP)
"The middle class," "middle-class families," struggling women, small business owners
HARDEST SELL
Romney: "I'm not in favour of a $5-billion tax cut. That's not my plan. … My plan is nothing that's been tried before."
HEALTH-CARE ZINGERS
Romney: "The cost of health care is just prohibitive [and] Obamacare … is adding to cost. … It's expensive. … It has killed jobs."
Obama: When I ran four years ago, I met families scared of going broke if they got sick. "It doesn't say you can't have your own doctor. It does say [insurance companies] can't jerk you around."
Romney: "The Republicans put a plan out … and we have to have a president who can reach across the aisle."
Obama: "Governor Romney wrote and said, 'what we did in Massachusetts can be a model for the nation.' … The fact of the matter is, we used the same advisers."
MUSCLING ASIDE THE MODERATOR
Obama: [As Mr. Lehrer attempts to cut him off] "I had five seconds before you interrupted me."
Romney: [As Mr. Lehrer attempts to cut him off] "No, I have to respond to that."
Adam Radwanski