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Matt Steffey is a law professor at Mississippi College. He said Tuesday's debate helped Obama reverse some of the negative effects of the first debate.
"One of the things I think it does for the president that was critical is it takes the first debate performance, and even the vice-presidential debate, out of the focus of public discussion," he said. "And I think it further hardens both parties positions."
Pete Perry, Hinds County Republican chairman, said he believes romney won on some issues, but the bate was likely a draw.
"It might stop the bleeding that Obama had. I think Obama was bleeding terrifically after the first debate and after the Biden debate to some degree with the women voters," he said.
Steffey said he doesn't know if the debate will do anything to sway undecided voters.
Mississippi's governor is a Romney supporter, who has not only stumped for the candidate, but has gone on the road to campaign for the Massachusettes governor. Phil Bryant was not big on the president's performance.
"It was interesting to watch this "let me explain" debate of Brrack Obama," he said. "It reminded me of firing someone. It's never easy. That's what we're about to have to do is just tell someone 'we know you tried'."
Bryant said Obama seemed to admit that he hadn't done enough about the economy or bringing down the deficit.
"It was this 'let me explain' style over substance attack and there was Mitt Romney, steady, incommand of the facts. He was able to quote specific numbers regarding the jobless rate."
The governor, through, said there were a couple of places in the debate where Romney could have done more. One specifically was the point where Romney and Obama got into a discussion about the loss of the Ambassador to Libya and three others in an attack.
"I was waiting for Romney to stand up and say 'Mr. President, I'm glad you're gonna act now that people have died.' Then this line of 'My pension's not as big as yours, Gov. Romney." I wanted Gov. Romney to say 'The difference is the taxpayers are paying your pension.'"
Bryant said Romney's lack of those types of responses could be attributed to some unpredictability on the president's part.
"When you're debating someone who will say anything, that will make up any type of story to fit the facts, it's difficult for us to debate someone like that, someone who doesn't care what they say, because you're trying to be honest."
Bryant was also critical of moderator Candy Crowley, from CNN, who he says was wrong to correct Romney on Obama's statements about the Libyan attacks, when in fact she had to correct herself later.
