The Romney campaign disagreed.
"I think President Obama came in and overcompensated," senior Romney campaign strategist Stuart Stevens said. "There's a difference between showing passion and showing you having a plan."
What did people who watched the debate think?
By a 49%--35% margin, debate watchers questioned in a CNN/ORC International poll said that Obama spent more time than Romney attacking his opponent. And nearly three-quarters said the president performed better than expected.
Maybe the president took note of Vice President Joe Biden's aggressive debate performance in last week's vice presidential showdown with GOP runningmate Rep. Paul Ryan. Regardless, we learned that Obama was able to step it up when it mattered the most.
4. These guys don't like each other very much
It's pretty obvious -- Obama and Romney don't like each other.
Need more proof?
The second debate provided plenty of examples.
The two candidates stood toe-to-toe and clashed over domestic oil production.
"Governor, we have actually produced more oil," said Obama.
"No, no. How much did you cut licenses and permits on federal land and federal waters?" asked Romney.
"Governor Romney, here's what we did. There were a whole bunch of oil companies," responded Obama.
"No, no, I had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by?" interrupted Romney
"You want me to answer a question," fought back Obama.
"How much did you cut them by?" asked Romney again.
"I'm happy to answer the question," fired back Obama.
Another heated exchange between the candidates ended with Romney pushing back at an interruption by the president by saying, "You'll get your chance in a moment but I'm still talking."
That moment brought gasps from some in the audience.
Republican strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos described the debate as a clash between "two high school jocks who didn't like each other very much."
5. Romney has binders full of women
It was your Internet meme of the night.
Asked about his support for women in the workplace, Romney recalled the hiring process he implemented after becoming Massachusetts governor.
"We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet," Romney said. "I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks,' and they brought us whole binders full of women."
Binders. Full of women!
The strange turn of phrase quickly became a trending topic on Twitter and the title of a brand new Tumblr blog mocking the Republican nominee's awkward word choice.
Beyond the jokes, the answer called attention to Romney's tightrope walk on a sensitive issue for women.
During the Republican primaries, Romney refused to say whether he would have supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill Obama signed into law. His campaign later said it wouldn't support the repeal of the law -- hardly a ringing endorsement.
So on Wednesday, when asked about equal pay, Romney resorted to personal anecdotes about women he once hired and promised to fix the economy so more women can find jobs.
Obama, like he did all night, pounced.
"When Governor Romney's campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he supported it, he said I'll get back to you," Obama said. "That's not the kind of advocacy that women need in any economy."
