The Internet declared President Barack Obama the winner of the second debate against Mitt Romney at 10:15 p.m., seconds after moderator Candy Crowley of CNN said that Obama had indeed immediately declared the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya an act of terrorism.
That’s the finding of Taykey, a digital marketing firm with offices in New York, Chicago and Tel Aviv, according to Business Insider. The company monitors real-time sentiment and volume of issues from numerous social media sources.
A Newsmax check of the debate footage found that this specific exchange between Obama and GOP challenger Romney began just seconds before 10:13 p.m. – or at 72 minutes and 51 seconds into the debate – when the president said he had described the Sept. 11 assault that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans as a terrorist attack the next day in the Rose Garden.
Then, at 73 minutes and 36 seconds, Obama said that Romney’s suggestion that anyone at the White House “would play politics or mislead” on the tragedy was “offensive.”
But Romney – at 73 minutes and 50 seconds – shot back with a question to Obama: “You said, in the Rose Garden, that it was a terrorist attack? It was not a spontaneous demonstration? Is that what you’re saying?”
Obama only responded, “Please proceed, governor.”
By now, it is 74 minutes and 18 seconds, and Obama then said, while Romney was talking, “Get the transcript.”
Two seconds later, as Romney continued to dispute Obama’s assertion, Crowley interjected, “He did call it an act of terror” – and Obama said, “Can you say that again, Candy?” – and the audience burst into applause.
Crowley then acknowledged that Romney was correct that “it did, as well, take two weeks or so” for the cause being linked to a demonstration over an anti-Muslim video to come out.
“You’re right about that,” she said. There was more applause.
By now, it is 74 minutes and 28 seconds into the debate – or just before 10:15 p.m.
This is when, according to Taykey’s data, the Internet burst with declarations that Obama had won the debate.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.