Politics

Two Polls Show Obama Slightly Won the Second Debate

Needed a win after first debate performance

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President Obama won Tuesday night's presidential debate by narrow margins in two surveys taken immediately after the 90-minute town-hall forum ended.

In a CBS News poll, 37 percent of 525 uncommitted voters who watched the debate declared Obama the winner, compared to 30 percent who said the same of Romney; 33 percent said it was a tie. A CNN ORC International poll of 457 registered voters gave the debate to the president by a 7 percentage point margin, 46 percent to 39 percent.

The CBS News poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points; the CNN poll's margin is 4.5 points.

Despite Obama's slight edge overall, Romney was seen as better able to handle most issues.