It’s easy to forget now, but the initial reaction to Paul Ryan’s speech to the Republican National Convention in August was overwhelmingly positive. On CNN, for example, Wolf Blitzer called it “a powerful speech … Paul Ryan certainly on this night delivered.” Gloria Borger agreed: “I think that Paul Ryan did a great job.” Among the network's anchors, only Erin Burnett sensed Ryan’s speech might have included some distortions. And even she gave it a glowing review: “Precise, clear, and compassionate.”

Burnett, of course, was onto something. In the hours and days that followed, analysts and journalists scrutinized Ryan’s statements and found all sorts of blatant deceptions. He’d blamed President Obama for the shuttering of an auto factory in Wisconsin, even thought it’d closed before he took office and Obama had famously rescued the auto industry, saving Chrysler and General Motors from oblivion. Ryan had attacked Obama for cutting Medicare by $716 billion when, in fact, Ryan had twice called for the same cuts in his own budget proposals.

Professional fact-checkers and critics from the left, including yours truly, were the first to cite these misrepresentations. But soon even mainstream journalists started pointing them out. It became part of the narrative. And, arguably, it affected public perceptions.

I thought about that today as I watched and read media coverage of last night’s presidential debate. The consensus, even among Obama’s allies, was that the president blew it. He lacked energy. He failed to make his points succinctly. He allowed Romney to appear more in command of facts.

All of these things are true. And all of these things are worthy of discussion. Presidents are human beings, so we want to know how they act and react in the public spotlight. Presidents are also communicators, so we want to know how well they can make the case for their policies. Obama himself should know that as well as anybody. As he has admitted, his failure to persuade more Americans to support his policies has caused him serious political problems during his first term.