WASHINGTON — Still neck-and-neck after all these months, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney head into their third and final debate with each man eager to project an aura of personal strength and leadership while raising doubts about the steadiness and foreign policy credentials of the other guy.
Each is aiming for a commanding performance Monday to settle the seesaw dynamics of the first two debates: Romney gave Obama an old-fashioned shellacking in the first round, and the chastened president rebounded in their second encounter.
The 90-minute faceoff at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., offers the candidates their last opportunity to stand one-on-one before tens of millions of Americans and command their undivided attention before next month's election. Both candidates largely dropped out of sight and devoted their weekends to debate preparations, a sure sign of the high importance they attach to the event.
While the principals warm up for their evening debate in the battleground state of Florida, their running mates will be busy Monday seeking votes in two of the eight other states whose up-for-grabs electoral votes will determine the next president — Vice President Joe Biden in Ohio and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan in Colorado. Also still hotly contested: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said Monday that "it really now comes down to that small segment of undecided voters."
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, Cutter said, "The ground game is in credibly important at this point. We feel pretty good about where we are."
It fell to campaign surrogates on Sunday talk shows to frame the foreign policy matters that moderator Bob Schieffer will put before the candidates in a discussion sure to reflect "how dangerous the world is in which we live," as the CBS newsman put it. Iran's nuclear intentions, the bloody crackdown in Syria, economic angst in Europe, security concerns in Afghanistan, China's growing power — all that and more are on the agenda.
On Iran, senior Romney campaign foreign policy adviser Dan Senor said on NBC Monday that Romney's approach is that "we've got to reach a diplomatic solution." He said the Obama administration's policy on Iran for the past four years has not discouraged Tehran from moving forward with its nuclear ambitions.
On Libya, Senor said "they didn't have the proper security" at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others were killed on Sept. 11.
The series of interviews Sunday and Monday fed into the broader debate over which candidate offers the steady hand and sound judgment for a nation facing myriad challenges at home and abroad.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, arguing for the Republicans, faulted Obama for "his failure to outline broad goals, real goals, a real view of what America's role in the world should be." Romney, by contrast, would "use America's role in the world as a catalyst for peace, prosperity and freedom," he said.
Ryan, campaigning in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Sunday, faulted the president for potential defense cuts and said that when adversaries "see us projecting weakness, when they see us hollowing out our military ... they think we are a superpower in decline." It was a likely preview of one of Romney's arguments in the debate.
Obama adviser David Axelrod said that when the president took office "we were isolated in our position on Iran and in the world. And today, the world is unified against Iran with us, all because of the leadership of this president."
The Obama campaign released a blistering memo from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., accusing Romney of offering nothing but "endless bluster" on international issues.
"He is an extreme and expedient candidate who lacks the judgment and vision so vital for the Oval Office," said Kerry, who is considered a leading candidate to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state if Obama wins a second term.
When it comes to their foreign policy credentials, both candidates have reasons for optimism and concern: While foreign policy has been a strength of Obama throughout the campaign, some recent polls show his advantage narrowing. The Pew Research Center's October poll, for example, found that 47 percent of Americans favored Obama to make "wise decisions about foreign policy," while 43 percent preferred Romney.
American University professor Jordan Tama said the difficult trick for Romney in the debate will be to challenge Obama on foreign policy without looking like he's criticizing the commander in chief, which can be off-putting to voters. Obama, for his part, must make the case that his policies are sound and his leadership strong despite ongoing challenges around the world, including unrest in the Middle East and the chaotic situation in Libya that left four Americans dead.
While foreign policy has been overshadowed during this campaign by concerns about the domestic economy and jobs at home, everything matters in a race this tight. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday showed each candidate favored by 47 percent of likely voters, reflecting a boost of support for Romney following his strong performance in the first debate in early October.
With early voting under way in many states, there is precious little time for the candidates to break loose. More than 4 million Americans already have voted.
REG in AZ posted at 10:02 am on Mon, Oct 22, 2012.
There is a very substantial effort going on to continually achieve very significant and unreasonable financial gains for the few, and those who have actually been emotionally drawn in will find it difficult to accept they are being used. The subterfuge is compelling and, as intended, the propaganda excites with its hype and compels with its emotion. Many of those defending and supporting the effort really don’t understand that they are being used for the self-serving interests of a few. The way it becomes clear is when stepping back, clearing the mind, calming emotions and rationally considering what is obvious in the deception, in who benefits and in the reality of what it actually costs the majority. What can make it apparent is to simply look at the total picture and in that overview see what is being accomplished that is almost beyond comprehension. Today many people’s beliefs, emotions, loyalties, biases and prejudices are literally being exploited for the benefit of the very few.
An article, Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor May Slow Growth for All, by Annie Lowry, The New York Times, points out the result recognized as the dynamically increasing financial gap between the very rich and everyone else. Ms. Lowry explains that the problem grows as the 1% take, in todays recovering economy, 93% of the growth and that the problem is perpetuated as the inequity breeds further decline, which then breeds further inequity and then that political success just becomes a symbiotic dependent, with politicians, even political parties, selling themselves to the cause. We have seen all of that, especially over the last twelve years, with the Republicans catering to the very wealthy who continually gain while the majority are neglected. What needs to be understood is that this is totally intentional and efforts like the manipulation of the “conservative” Christian, the Swift-boat propaganda, the Tea Party movement and so much more are all designed to achieve these ends, without concern for other than the financial gains of the few. The spending, the propaganda, the “puppet” politicians, the conning of the clergy, individual groups and voters in general all have the one goal in mind - to move the country further into being a two-class society with the 1% feeding their insatiable “more” (never enough) appetite, while the 99% necessarily constantly loose.
The Republican / Tea Party and their strong supporters, with the likes of Norquist, Cheney, Rove, the Koch brothers and many more, have boldly displayed these efforts and really leave absolutely no room for the majority to expect anything or to have any valid reason to identify with them. Whenever we put aside our biases, prejudices, loyalties, fears and emotions so they can’t be used to con and manipulate us, all of it is completely obvious, disappointingly so to many but none the less totally apparent. Today it is literally a totally progressed cancer and the only way to regain health is to cut it out. The country would be far better off with money out of politics but that isn’t to be as even the Supreme Court has contributed to the problem. What the voters can do is to make “the money’s” power, influence and mega-millions ineffective by completely rejecting their manipulative propaganda and firmly rejecting their “puppet” politicians. The people really need to see that there is no hope in supporting the “puppets” of those few who want it all and who propagandize the country to sell their self-serving objectives and instead to pressure the Republicans to once more focus on the people and again become the Grande Ole Party. Otherwise we could just be returned to “more of the same” which necessarily will simply result in “more of the same”.
Common Sense in considering the “puppet” politicians being offered: If they continually lie without even a hint of a conscience, how can you trust them? If they constantly demonstrate they don’t care about anything more then their political ambitions, how can you have any confidence in them? If they have nothing to offer but criticism and propaganda, how can you expect anything positive from them? If they are totally dependent on the 1%, dependent on “the money” who support and control them, how can you look for them to perform for the 99%? If the last twelve years clearly show all of these things and yet they still are arrogantly cocky confident, how can you be other than insulted as they just take the people for granted? If their offerings and propaganda are aimed to achieve only their purposes, how can you ignore they are obviously not right for the job?
DonMey posted at 12:38 pm on Mon, Oct 22, 2012.
Reg-If you're going to go off the deep end, at least do it on a thread that is even mildly on-topic.
What I find funny is how Obama is kicking and screaming about how Romney is turning the deaths of four Americans into a "political event", when he was elected on turning the deaths of THOUSANDS of Americans into one.
DrJCA1 posted at 12:49 pm on Mon, Oct 22, 2012.
Reg: while you make very good points, there is a basic human condition that you neglected to include in your diatribe. Self preservation for yourself and your family comes into play here. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be considered either affluent or wealthy do many things that the opposition says we don't. We give time and money to charities, take care of our families so the taxpayers don't have to, and realize that we got where we are though hard work, education, and self sacrifice for many years. My biggest problem with the liberal agenda of our nation is that everyone in America would consider it theft if someone broke into your home and stole your possessions. Theft is defined as taking other people's property without their permission. When the government does it however, the liberals then switch gears and say it OK becaue the cause is "noble" (giving it to the have-nots). Situational ethics does not come into play here. Theft is theft, pure and simple.
In my 40 years of medicine, I gave much time and money to charity. Free care and medications for those who could not afford it, free health and sports exams for the local schools, house visits for those who could not get out easily (again, at my expense). Almost everyone of my contemporary colleagues did the same. This was great because we chose to do these things - we all should help our neighbors when needed. However, when the govenrment forces us to do good deeds by stealing our money, the entire thing then becomes unfair and bad. Throughout history in evrey society, there have been the dirt-poor and incredibly wealthy. That is the nature of every society and always will be. I believe it was Socrates who said that the worst thing you can do to a true democracry is to try and make unequal things equal.
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