1. This was a needed wake-up call for POTUS. For those of us who are fans of the president, we know there are two Obamas. One is the overly nice guy who bends over backwards for the opposition, and the other is campaign kickboxer/middle-class champion who beats the hell out of the other guy. After his assessment of this, expect to see the kickboxer in the next debate.

2. Next presidential debate is townhall style. Big advantage for Obama. He can connect to folks. Romney? Not so much. He has this thing about commoners. He always comes across as condescending and awkward-- a unique Romney trait.

3. Any bump won't last more than a week. The veep debate is Oct. 11. Biden has the advantage of being seen as the underdog. That's a good thing in a debate. Biden is one tough SOB and I know he's been itching to ream Paul Ryan and his awful budget.

4. Now Obama gets to be the underdog. Before this debate, the polls showed that most people thought Obama would crush Romney. Lowering expectations right before a debate is something both sides try to do. Now that Romney has established himself as a seasoned debator, Obama gets the advantage.

5. First debates don't matter. George W. got his butt handed to him in the first debate with John Kerry. For those of you old enough to remember, Ronald Reagan was UTTERLY DEMOLISHED in his first debate. Remember how those turned out??

6. Romney sucks and is too far behind. There is nothing Romney can do to erase the epic ton of gaffes that has made him the most unlikable and worst challenger in modern presidential history. He will get a small short-lived and small bump from this, but he can't erase the large deficit in all the battleground states.

7. This is my favorite. SUPERPACS will stop diverting money to downballot races. No doubt snake oil saleman Karl Rove is on the phone asking for millions for Romney that otherwise would have gone to much closer Senate and House races. SuperPac money in the presidential race is wasted (See previous diary). This is great news for us.

Finally, bonus. #8.

This should be a wake-up call to all of us. If you were thinking of sitting this election out... DON'T! If you haven't volunteered, canvassed, phone-banked, registered voters, poll watched, etc. DO THAT NOW!! This is not and has never been in the bag for us by any means. Complacency can cost us this election. Obama got that message last night and will step up.... will you?