Liberals in America are in full on freak out mode after President Obama’s dismal performance last week in the first presidential debate. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that one debate, especially the first debate, does not make an election. However, Mitt Romney has successfully changed the narrative after one debate and not just the narrative, but poll after poll shows that he has started shifting the needle in his direction.

The poll that has garnered the most attention has been the Pew Research poll that came out after the debate. It showed a tectonic shift in favor of Mitt Romney.

(Via Business Insider)

In a shocking one-month swing, Mitt Romney stormed into the lead over President Barack Obama in a new Pew Research poll conducted after Romney’s consensus victory in the first presidential debate.

The poll finds a 12-point swing among likely voters. In Pew’s last poll, conducted in the middle of September, Obama led Romney 51-43 among likely voters. Now, Romney leads 49-45.

The shift is due to Romney shoring up key areas of strength among likely voters and improving his overall image, much of which can be attributed to his strong debate performance. Sixty-six percent of voters thought Romney won the debate, compared with just 20 percent who said Obama won. Among Independents, Romney won by an astounding 78-14 margin.

And it doesn’t just stop there.

He also has boosted his standing with voters on the economy and jobs. He now leads Obama by 8 points on which candidate would best “improve the job situation.” Last month, Obama led Romney by a point in that category.

Romney also saw significant gains among women. Last month, women preferred Obama by an astounding 18 points. Now, they are equally split between both candidates at 47 percent apiece.

Now when I brought up this poll on my weekly debate on Fox 59 with my Democratic colleague and friend Jennifer Wagner, she said it was just one poll. Just one poll?

Okay, then lets look at collective polls and use the one source Democrats and Republicans can agree on…most of the time; the Real Clear Politics (or RCP) average.

Just one poll? Nationally Romney is moving up. Here’s a better look at his upward trend.

Plus, we’re seeing Mitt Romney narrow the gap or take the lead in state after state that are considered battleground states.

Via CBS News

On the heels of last week’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney has emerged with a one-point edge over President Obama in Colorado and has cut the president’s lead in half in Wisconsin, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.

And even making up ground where he’s not really supposed to.

The effects of President Barack Obama’s falter in the first debate with Mitt Romney are not just being felt in battleground states, according to KPIX-TV CBS 5′s latest tracking poll of California which shows Romney slicing eight points off Obama’s lead.

Obama had led by 22 points in the CBS 5 tracking poll released four weeks ago. Obama now leads by only 14 points, an 8-point improvement for Romney. At the same time, the poll found U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s support for her re-election bid remained largely unchanged, month-on-month, suggesting that the erosion in Democratic support is not across-the-board, but contained to Obama.

Emphasis mine.

Also RCP has changed 5 different states from “Lean Obama” to “Toss Up” including states the President won in 2008 such as Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Also, this:

Romney up 1 among LVs in today’s Gallup, Obama’s RV lead shrinks to 2 bit.ly/JG7Sv

— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) October 11, 2012

Now here is where I emphasize caution. As I said before, one debate does not an election make. No one should underestimate President Obama or Joe Biden, for that matter, as we prepare for tonight’s VP debate. The simple fact is though, Mitt Romney has now officially put Liberals on the defensive for the first time during the General Election season and, more importantly, he’s proven to the country that he can indeed be presidential. Almost 80 million people watched the first debate. While I don’t expect those kinds of numbers for the second debate, Mitt Romney has put people on notice. He is being watched and is under even more intense scrutiny (both positive and negative) than ever before during the election cycle.

I guess in the end, I shouldn’t be surprised by Mitt Romney’s performance in the debate and subsequent jump in the polls. I remember a friend telling me that Romney, during the primaries, would let his opponents circle around him, make attacks and he’d just stand there waiting…biding his time and then pounce! He did it time and again. I remember thinking that if that was Romney’s strategy now, he needs to get his tail into gear because time is running out. Well, the cat is out of the bag now. We’ll see if Romney can maintain his performance through to election day.

**UPDATE**

And here’s Florida:

Poll: Romney 51, Obama 44

Barack Obama’s lackluster debate performance last week has dramatically altered the presidential race in Florida as of Oct. 10, with Mitt Romney opening up a decisive 7 percentage point lead, according to a new Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll.

**UPDATE 2**

Romney now leads in Virginia

Poll: Romney 51, Obama 44

Mitt Romney has taken a commanding 7-point lead over President Barack Obama in another Virginia poll.

According to a McLaughlin & Associates poll that had an R+.02 sample, Romney leads Obama in Virginia 51%-44%.