The American public had their last chance to view the Presidential candidates in one-on-one issue discussions last night. It was a healthy debate between Romney and Obama.
Foreign policy is especially difficult to debate as the candidates know the whole world is watching every word uttered. Social media was abuzz that Romney was mostly agreeing with the President and not as full of fight as in the past. It may be somewhat true but when it comes to the defense of our nation, neither candidate wants to put our safety at risk.
Obama did seem to have an advantage as the “Commander in Chief” and didn’t hesitate to use that term when he could. He had some good one-liners and zinged Romney a few times.
Romney took advantage of a couple of questions to shift the debate back to domestic issues – his strength – and they both lapsed back into their regular rhetoric.
Personally, I was stunned by the lack of discussion on broader foreign policy issues such as the expansion of the Panama Canal and what it might mean for American business and there was very little focus on Latin America in general.
For the most part, the debate was uneventful. The Obama forces are all fist-bumping today and feel strongly that they won the debate. The Romney forces believe that he held his own and are accusing the President of “being snarky.”
Take your pick. In my humble opinion, there was little difference between them on critical issues of foreign policy.
Final debate score from this moderators point of view:
First debate – Advantage Romney
Second debate – Toss-up
Third debate – Advantage Obama
Now, it is time to vote. Take your pick and go cast your ballots!