… YouGov polls have been asking Americans to indicate whether they think 16 different adjectives do or do not describe Romney and Obama — such as “bold,” “effective,” “strong,” “patriotic,” “arrogant,” etc. …
Romney was dealing with substantial disadvantages on these dimensions before the debate, but after the debate he began to close these gaps and in one case (“effective”) opened up a lead. More respondents described him as “bold,” “effective,” “strong” — even “exciting” and “inspiring.” But fewer respondents described Obama in most of these ways: he experienced drops nearly across the board.
In short, Obama’s general likability, long an asset in this race, suffered relative to Romney’s. [cont.]
John Sides, George Washington U. (Model Politics)