President Barack Obama speaks during the Presidential Debate at the University of Denver on Oct. 3, 2012 in Denver, Colo. (credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Reporter's GalleryWASHINGTON (CBSDC) — President Obama’s former environmental jobs czar believes his former boss lost the debate.
Van Jones, President Obama’s former special adviser for green jobs, said on CNN that the president was not ready for Wednesday night’s debate against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
“I think he took Romney too lightly. I think he did not expect Romney to throw that kind of heat,” Jones explained.
Jones added: “Romney was able to ‘out-Obama’ Obama. On the connection piece, on the authenticity piece, on the being able to tell the story.”
Jones said Obama’s game-plan set him up for failure.
Several other Democratic pundits, including James Carville, Andrew Sullivan and Michael Moore, believed that Romney won Wednesday’s debate.
A CNN poll found that 67 percent believe Romney won the debate, compared to only 25 percent for Obama.
Jones resigned from his White House position in September 2009 after signing a petition saying that the 9/11 attacks might have been an inside job orchestrated by former President George W. Bush.
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