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In Wednesday night鈥檚 debate, Romney won on style while Obama won on substance. Romney sounded as if he had conviction, which means he鈥檚 either convinced himself that the lies he tells are true or he鈥檚 a fabulous actor.

But what struck me most was how much Obama allowed Romney to get away with: Five times Romney accused Obama of raiding Medicare of $716 billion, which is a complete fabrication. Obama never mentioned the regressiveness of Romney鈥檚 budget plan 鈥� awarding the rich and hurting the middle class and the poor. He never mentioned Bain Capital, or Romney鈥檚 47 percent talk, or Romney鈥檚 鈥渃arried-interest鈥� tax loophole. Obama allowed Romney to talk about replacing Dodd-Frank and the Affordable Care Act without demanding that Romney be specific about what he鈥檇 replace and why. And so on.

I鈥檝e been worried about Obama鈥檚 poor debate performance for some time now. He was terrible in the 2008 primary debates, for example. Expectations are always high 鈥� he鈥檚 known as an eloquent orator. But when he has to think on his feet and punch back, he鈥檚 not nearly as confident or assured as he is when he is giving a speech or explaining a large problem and its solution. He is an educator, not a pugilist, and this puts him at a disadvantage in any debate.

Romney stayed on script. If you look at a transcript of his remarks you鈥檒l see that he repeated the same lines almost word for word in different contexts. He has memorized a bunch of lines, and practiced delivering them. The overall effect is to make him seem assured and even passionate about his position. He said over and over that he cares about jobs, about small businesses, and ordinary Americans. But his policies and his record at Bain tell a very different story.

The question now is whether Team Obama understands that our President must be more aggressive and commanding in the next two debates 鈥� and be unafraid to respectfully pin Romney to the floor.