Although the campaigning period still continues for President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, another aspect will soon come into play: debates. The first of three Presidential Debates will take place tomorrow night, starting at 8 PM central time, and is estimated to last around 90 minutes. It will air live on Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, and C-Span. Although this is a busy week for us Madison students with midterm exams starting up, I highly suggest you take time to watch the debates. This election has shown an extreme bipartisan divide, and once the two candidates meet face to face, everything will change.
The topic of the first debate, taking place at the University of Denver, will focus on Domestic Policy. The debates are usually divided up into six different time segments, with each lasting for about 15 minutes. The moderator, in this debate is Jim Lehrer, will open each segment with a question. Following, each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The remainder of the segment will be used for discussion on the topic between the two candidates.
According to a poll released today by Fox, President Obama is expected to be victorious in the upcoming debates by 54-28%, however the survey also depicts that independent voters are currently leaning in support towards the Republican nominee. These polls demonstrate that Obama is showing an advantage with women voters, with 49-45%, but Romney is ahead with male voters, with 47-45%.
Although the topic of this debate is Domestic Policy, republicans are still concerned with Obama’s policies on International Issues, specifically his administration’s response to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, which resulted in the death of the American Ambassador and three other Americans (Fox News).
Obama stated at a recent rally, “What I’m most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing and restore security to hardworking Americans. That’s the debate [American’s] deserve.”
Paul Ryan, running as the Republican Vice President candidate, stated on “Fox News Sunday” that Romney would show what kind of person he is and what kind of President he would be during these upcoming debates. Ryan continued saying, “I know what President Obama has done, I know all of these empty promises and broken promises, I know about the ugly stagnant economy. What [are] Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan offering to get us back on track? And I think that’s what we’ll get out of Wednesday… [And] then the country will understand the choice they have to make.”