When even Yahoo! concedes who took the first debate you know just how bad the night was for President Barack Obama. Sure, I’m a partisan, but I’m no dummy – I’ve been watching presidential debates since Ford/Carter in 1976, and let me tell you: if this had been a boxing match the ref would have stopped it after the second round, it was that decisive. The most one-sided debate I’ve ever seen.

To be honest, I really didn’t think Mitt had it in him. Sure, there were times during the primary debates where he seemed to know when to put the pedal to the metal – he really dismembered Newt Gingrich in the debate just before the Florida primary – but who would have imagined him not just dominating Barack Obama in their first presidential debate, but doing it smartly, with just the right amount of aggression, facts (as much as any candidate is capable of “facts”), and genuineness. Obama, on the other hand, was unprepared, sloppy, and reduced to spewing Democratic talking points, completely off his game. Maybe he thought he would do the same thing to Romney as he did to John McCain, maybe after four years of never having to answer tough questions he just thought he could mail it in. More likely, perhaps he’s had a rough four years and is just worn out – I mean, with the economy and all the crap going on overseas how could you not be?

Simply put, Romney wanted a debate win more than Obama did. One can’t help but wonder if that sentiment extends to the White House and the presidency itself.

The big questions now are: 1) does this move the polls in any way, and 2) how does the Obama re-election team and candidate respond? If Ulsterman’s White House Insider is correct, expect a lot of money (and perhaps some poll movement)to go Romney’s way in the coming days. Keep in mind there is still A TON of money sitting on the sidelines from people waiting to see how Romney would do in the first debate; if the money folks feel he has a legitimate shot – and after his debate performance it would be hard to argue otherwise – their money will be worth investing. Second, I’m not sure just how Obama turns the next debate around: after all, it will be on foreign policy. If it were a month ago, before the Libyan fiasco and White House coverup, one could have expected it to be an Obama strength; now, there’s no shortage of material for Romney to toss back in the President’s face. Hard to see how even the Magnificent Obama can talk his way out of that.

The next few days are going to be interesting, as there’s really no way to spin just how abysmal the President’s performance was last night. Romney showed himself as presidential material, sincere and genuine, making the Obama campaign’s prior and future attempts to portray him as some heartless Gordon Gekko that much more difficult. If undecided voters were looking to see exactly what kind of fellow this Mitt Romney character was, whether or not it would be “safe” to choose him over Barack Obama, Romney hit a home run.

Like I say, when you lose Yahoo! News, you know you had a bad night. Great job, Mitt – now don’t get cocky, keep it up and put the freakin’ hammer down.