Fifty-nine million viewers tuned in to watch the third and final presidential debate this past Monday night. President Obama and Governor Romney were at each other’s necks in the first two debates, ready to snap at each other at any minute. Surprisingly, the third debate, which just took place Monday night was well, was a little more civil. How could this be?
This week’s debate had Romney and Obama sitting, which was different than both of the two prior debates. The other two proved to be more confrontational. The ones where both candidates were standing, both of them would get in each others face; however, this time the mood of the debate severed a lot of tension with the moderator sitting much closer to the two candidates as well.
Their Attitudes
The roles seem to have switched with this last debate; Romney rolled with a lot of the punches Obama was throwing at him and seemed much less combative than the two debates beforehand, while Obama was a little more confident and forceful than the last ones. It seemed as though Romney went for a more presidential stance, stating a few times that if he was president or when he is president what would happen.
Foreign Policy
This week’s presidential debate was centered on foreign policy, and the majority of the questions of the night focused on questions about Libya, Afghanistan, Iran and Israel; however, surprisingly, Romney never attacked Obama on the Libya scandal and seemed to feel more sympathetic about it. Obama and Romney dove into a little talk about China, seeing them as a trading partner, adversary, and competition as well.
The Insults
Now I never said the whole debate wasn’t heated; there’s bound to be a few disputes and call-outs when dealing with these two opponents. Obama criticized Romney’s view when Romney stated that our Navy is smaller than ever since 1917 and also changed for the first time since FDR. Obama wisecracked him by stating, “We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines…The budget that we are talking about is not reducing our military spending. It is maintaining it.” Romney wasn’t an angel in this debate either, attacking Obama on his trip to the middle east but not stopping in Israel, our closest ally in the middle east.
So Who’s in The Lead?
Ah, the inevitable question on which candidate was voted as doing better in the debate of the night. CNN’s poll of registered voters stated that 48 percent believed Obama won while 40 percent advocated Romney. Whatever the case, it’s safe to say that this race for the president of the United States is anything but unanimous, and there is still more to come within the next few weeks before the election.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/third-debate-ratings_n_2006252….
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/morning-edition/2012/10/who-won-th…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/presidential-debate-polls_n_200…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/22/transcript-presidential-debat…
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/10/23/obama-romney-presidential-debate-…
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/10/slate_s…