President Barack Obama countered Mitt Romney's Big Bird and binders on Monday night with horses, bayonets and Battleship. Who won? The Internet, of course.
Obama's broadside reply to Romney's shot at the size of the Navy took off instantly on social networks and dominated online discussion of the candidates' final debate.
A look at some key online trends from the night:
HORSES AND BAYONETS: The exchange started with Romney challenging his Democratic opponent by saying the Navy is too small and has fewer ships than it did in 1916.
Obama's response: "Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. ... We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships."
The online reaction was swift.
On Twitter, the hashtag "horsesandbayonets" immediately began trending in the United States and became the top trend in the country and third worldwide, even an hour after the debate ended. On Facebook, users created more than 50 pages named "Horses and Bayonets." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also pounced, posting a meme declaring "Obama just sank Romney's battleship" that generated more than 84,000 likes and was shared more than 16,000 times in an hour.
REGIONS: Iran, Libya, Israel, Syria, Detroit and even Mali all made appearances among Twitter's trending topics in the United States and worldwide as Obama and Romney sparred on U.S. foreign policy. Bill Maher weighed in with a jab at voters after Romney mentioned al-Qaida's presence in Mali. Said the comedian on Twitter: "Mitt, you do know that most of America thinks Mali is one of Obama's daughters, right?"
BOB SCHIEFFER: The veteran CBS newsman was largely spared the same criticism unleashed by the Internet on previous moderators Jim Lehrer and Candy Crowley. He took some ribbing after a gaffe in which he referred to "Obama's bin Laden," but received even more praise for saying everyone loves teachers and closing the debate by saying his mom's advice is "go vote."
HOPE OF THE EARTH: Romney's reference to America being the hope of the Earth in his closing statement earned him praise from supporters and sarcasm from detractors. It fit with a phrase that went viral on Twitter earlier in the debate, in which he said his goal is a "peaceful planet."
THE MAIN EVENT: On a night with "Monday Night Football" and the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants contending for baseball's National League championship, the debate won heads up on social networks as the events were played simultaneously. Two-thirds of the way through Obama-Romney 3, eight of nine top trending topics on Twitter in the United States were related to the debate. Even in the moments after San Francisco clinched a berth to its second World Series in three years, the "horsesandbayonets" hashtag was more popular.
loose stool posted at 4:49 am on Tue, Oct 23, 2012.
The election will be about the lack of jobs and the debit that obama has added paying back his supporters.
DataMan posted at 7:57 am on Tue, Oct 23, 2012.
loose.. You mean the jobs Mittens sent to China, and the debt increases due to money borrowed in the Bush term?
Mittens was heard to mumble "you sunk my battleship" on the way out of the debate. He also claimed to have binders of horses at home for Ann...
Cas Lee posted at 7:34 pm on Sun, Oct 28, 2012.
Hello, my fellow American voters!
I watched the Oct. 3rd, 11th, 16th, and 22nd debates.
1st Romney-Obama debate covered 7 topics: jobs; budget deficit/debt; social security/entitlements; federal gov’t economic regulation and role; healthcare; partisan gridlock.
2nd Romney-Obama debate covered 11 topics: college graduate jobs; gas prices; taxes; equal pay; Bush policies; Obama’s record; illegal immigrants; Libya; assault weapons; jobs; candidate misperceptions.
3rd Romney-Obama debate covered 10 topics: Libya; Syria; Egypt; U.S. world role; military spending; Israel; Iran; Afghanistan; China; U.S. national security threats.
Ryan-Biden debate covered 10 topics: Libya; Iran; economy; medicare/social security/entitlements; tax reform/spending/budget cuts; military policy; Afghanistan; Syria; abortion; negative campaign tactics.
Romney and Ryan won all 4 debates, although Obama improved some in the 2nd debate and Romney slightly took the win both in the 2nd and 3rd debates.
In the 3rd debate (unlike in prior debates), Obama reflected his weakness and disrespect by interrupting Romney a lot and using too many “one-line quips” to try to denigrate Romney.
Ryan won despite Biden’s consistently rude behavior during the debate (often interrupted Ryan, laughed when Ryan talked, pointed his finger). Biden’s tactics to evade issues/truth disrespected Americans interested in facts, figures, forecasts, and solutions for real people with real problems.
Romney and Ryan won with substance, directness, integrity, respect, clarity, facts, commitment, inspiration, credibility, and leadership.
As an INDEPENDENT female feminist (egalitarian) voter, I support the Romney/Ryan ticket.
Romney and Ryan, with their no-nonsense and methodic approach to solving America’s problems, are the best persons in terms of qualifications and character to lead our country and make life better for all Americans.
I am inspired by Romney/Ryan, and I hope that you are too!
Best regards,
Cas Lee