Gallup: Obama won the second debate

New numbers out from Gallup this afternoon confirmed what seemed to be the consensus after the Hofstra debate on Tuesday night: that President Obama won, but not as decisively as Mitt Romney won the first debate.

In the poll, taken Wednesday and Thursday, 51 percent of those surveyed said Obama won, compared with 38 percent for Romney. After the first debate, 72 percent said Romney won, compared with 20 percent who said Obama won.

Independents, too, said Obama won this debate by a 21-percent margin: 54 percent chose Obama as the winner, while 33 percent named Romney.

The Gallup numbers give Obama a larger margin than either of the snap polls that night: CNN and CBS each gave Obama a 7-point win.