Column: Game over. Obama wins.

• The President saved himself.
• Candy Crowley excelled in a difficult format.
• A major improvement over his last performance -- Obama repeatedly fact-checked his opponent.

"Obama won."

Or, you could say that the president saved himself if you believe that these debates are a deciding factor for a significant number of voters.

But that's the short review at the close of the second media frenzy, er, debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney Tuesday night at the town hall forum held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

To the credit of the 82 uncommitted voters selected by Gallup to attend, their questions teased out interesting answers from the candidates on a variety of issues -- job creation, energy policy, gender pay equity, taxes, health care/contraception, immigration, the Libyan embassy attack and gun violence.

How was Candy Crowley as moderator? She excelled in a difficult format, corralling the candidates when it was necessary -- Mitt Romney in particular was at times corrected on his facts (about the Libyan attack and the President's response to it) or repeatedly instructed to stick to the topic. She ably shut down filibustering attempts by both men.

Romney continued to avoid specifics -- even when he was directly asked by a member of the audience about whether the mortgage tax deduction and those for education credits and for children would be preserved. And in another sign that he has no concept of the average family income, he suggested that people could take, oh, say, $25,000 in deductions to use how they see fit. Nice.

The president was visibly much more relaxed in this format and offered a balanced, more assertive persona. A major strength over his last performance (and tearing a page out of Joe Biden's book) -- he repeatedly fact-checked his opponent, saying on several occasions, "Governor Romney, that's simply not true."

A particularly gripping topic was gender pay equity. How basic is it to support equal pay for equal work? If you're Governor Romney apparently this is difficult. He failed to say whether he approved of the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the first bill signed into law by President Obama. Instead, the former governor went into a fairly long and odd anecdote about his efforts to increase recruitment of women, leading to the already parodied comment that "I've Got Binders Full of Women."

Romney also inadvertently cracked the door open on one social issue while discussing gun violence. He said that he believes two (married) parents is a solution to this social ill. It leads to an obvious question not asked -- does he believe then that same-sex couples should be able to marry and provide that stable home environment? The president missed an opportunity there.

And now it's on to round 3.

Pam Spaulding is the editor of the progressive blogPam's House Blend. She lives in Durham, NC.

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