The last two weeks have proved that the 2012 Presidential election will be a close and crazy race. Both the presidential and vice presidential debates focused on the most substantiative issues that should play a role in determining who will win the election and become leader of the free world in January 2013.
The presidential debate in Denver, CO on Oct. 3 featured a confident Mitt Romney and a seemingly unprepared Barack Obama. Their debate questions were primarily focused on the economy and the budget. Now, I’m not going to go too deeply into the debate to avoid issues of bias. But there was a consensus among a majority of large media news sources such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, USA Today and many more that Mitt Romney was the victor of the debate. He looked confident, well prepared, and did not back down. For President Obama, it wasn’t exactly that he had performed badly as much as it was that Gov. Romney ultimately out-debated him.
For the most part, this debate was pretty cordial given the mudslinging in this election. Even Obama credited his loss to the fact that he had been “too nice.” But honestly, it was only the second time they’d even met in person. The most contact they’ve ever had occurred when the Obamas called to the Romneys to let them know they were in their thoughts and prayers after Ann Romney, Mitt’s wife, was diagnosed with cancer. The Romneys also told the Obamas that despite political alliances, that they were keeping them in their prayers as they begun their life in the White House. I know that’s a little off topic, but I thought everyone could use a little reminder that politics don’t have to reflect personal behavior and characteristics, and for the most part, politicians are still rational, caring human beings.
However, the VP debate was not all hugs and kisses. Thought it was not outright dirty, Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden did not hold back from saying anything they thought or felt, not that Joe Biden has ever done this before. Unlike the presidential debates, there is only one VP debate, so they covered a broad range of topics such as economy, foreign policy, healthcare, and so on. This debate didn’t exactly have a clear winner with nearly 50 percent of voters undecided as to who won it. Ask a republican, they’ll say Ryan. Ask a democrat, they’ll say Biden. Ask me, I’d say to go look it up for yourself. JK. Sorta.
One popular topic among the watchers of the VP debate was Joe Biden laughing, smiling, and interrupting while Paul Ryan was speaking. Again, the republicans found it disrespectful, mocking to economically suffering families, and accredited to him not taking issues seriously, while democrats claimed that Ryan’s answers were so ridiculous that Biden’s reactions were well warranted. Personally, I think the best part of the debate was at the end when Paul Ryan’s son was sitting in the debate chair looking up to no good with a smug grin on his face.
This Tuesday, Oct. 16, marks the second of the three presidential debates at 9 pm, moderated by CNN and hosted by Hofstra University in Long Island, NY. This debate should be an interesting one as President Obama will be aggressively trying come back after the last debate and Gov. Romney will surely be ready for it, after his brief surge in the Gallup/USA Today polls that narrowed the margin between him and Obama. So if you have a few seconds, you should definitely tune in. It’ll be about an hour and half long and even just a few minutes are better than none.
Sources:
eonline.com
nydailynews.com