I don’t really have a lot in terms of pre-debate. Let’s just get this over with.
This is a foreign policy debate, which normally would be a
higher stakes debate, but with the economy in shambles, this is playing second
fiddle. However, I think Romney has a
chance to seal the deal here…
Bob Schieffer is moderating, and this is an all parties
seated debate. I don’t like this format
either.
And here they are.
Why do they have to wear red/blue ties?
Is it because people are that stupid?
Segment 1, Question 1: Libya. Intelligence failure, policy failure? Unraveling in the Middle East?
R: Okay, he’s not coming out the gate well. He’s stuttering a little. However,
he’s hitting the high points. He totally
just stole Obama’s thunder on Osama bin Laden (OBL), by congratulating him, but
he said we can’t “kill our way out of this.”
O: And now, the
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (DWS) talking points: ending the war in Iraq, setting
an exit in Afghanistan. And now he’s
jumping on Libya. He’s basically saying
that he freed Libya. What he doesn’t
realize is that if they were free, they wouldn’t have attacked our
embassy. Now he’s saying Romney is
untrustworthy on foreign policy – and he can’t keep direct eye contact for more
than a second or two.
R: Coordinating
foreign aid, education, gender equality…”a region in tumult.”
O: Now he’s blaming
Romney for saying Russia is our biggest geopolitical threat. Lots of putting words in his mouth, saying
his opinions are wrong, despite not being able to enact foreign policy. Why don’t
you tout your credentials?
Fail. Oh, Romney sends mixed
messages to our allies? You’ve got to be
kidding me.
R: Whoa. He’s keeping eye contact. “Attacking me is not an agenda.” Preach.
YES YES YES. This is great. Oh, yes!
The flexibility with Putin comment.
Grr. Don’t ask him
questions. It gives him a chance to
talk.
Back and forth…Romney is owning this one, Obama is trying to
cut him off. And now Schieffer is
cutting in to help Obama.
O: Saying he’s Israel’s
friend. He sounds testy. Oh, so you’ve figured out the plan strategy.
Segment 1, Question 2: Syria. 30,000 dead.
Should we reassess our policy…influence there?
O: Sanctions. Humanitarian assistance. Touting assistance from Israel and Turkey,
but saying it’s the Syrians problem. Now
he’s saying we’re not involved because we don’t know who we’re helping. Kind of like Egypt?
R: Tying Syria to
Iran. Nice. No military involvement. He’s talking about not letting arms get into
the wrong hand. How I would love if he just made a Fast &
Furious quip there. Critical
opportunity. Now he’s tying the
president to the UN, and showing that it’s been a massive fail.
O: Oh, so we’re on a
Syria question, but you want to talk about Libya. Oh, that’s why. Because he wants to blame Romney. “Ghadaffi had more American blood on his hands
than anyone except for Osama bin Laden.”
WHAT?!
R: Back to
Syria. You know, on topic. Not, “Look!
Something shiny!”
O: “[H]e doesn’t have
different ideas.” Yet, you still want to
knock him on them. So, basically, you’re
knocking your own policy?
BS: Regrets about how
things transpired in Egypt?
O: Touting
democratically elected government. Oh,
you mean the one run by the Muslim Brotherhood?
Oh…the “red line for us” quip.
That was sly. Try to tie yourself
to Benjamin Netanyahu. Fail. How about you worry about the people at home
and our economy before you worry about Egypt’s?! I’m so bored with this man. “We’ve neglected building our economy…education…” Or you’ve wrecked them? Ever think of that?
R: Basically has the
same opinion as Obama. Who wants to bet
that Obama says something to the effect of “Nuh-uh”? Now he’s propping up a future without war,
but saying that we’ve got to be strong – at home. Bring it back to the economy, as a foreign
policy issue. Now prop up the military,
and talk about how spending cuts hurt our strength. Allies.
Segment 2, Question 1:
What is America’s role in the world?
R: Defend freedom,
human rights, free enterprise…elections…
“In order to fulfill our role in the world, America must be strong.” Oh, yeah.
Now he’s talking about how awful the economy is, saying that it’s imperative
for it to be strong for us to lead. Now
he’s saying he won’t cut the military budget, and that backing Israel is
paramount. Oh, nice. He’s hitting Obama for silence pertaining to
the Iranian protestors.
O: Ending the
war. Oh, “alliances that have been
neglected for a decade”. Why don’t you
just hold up a picture of Bush, point to it and say, “He did it!” Now he’s just hitting the DWS talking points
to talk up the economy. Now he’s on to
energy and deficit. And naturally, he’s
on to making the wealthy pay more. I’m
so bored with this man. Have I mentioned
this? Oh, he just called out Bush and
Cheney by name.
R: “I’ve got a policy
for the future, and an agenda for the future…What we’ve seen over the last four
years is not what I want to see over the next four.” Now he’s on to the 5-point plan. Kind of beating a dead horse, but at least he
has a plan. Knock the teacher’s
unions. Yes. Says we’re becoming Greece, if we don’t get
the deficit under control. Like I was
saying earlier, this is a foreign policy debate, but it’s the economy, stupid.
O: Blah, blah,
blah. DWS talking points. Education.
“hire more teachers” Yeah, so
they can pay their union dues to the DNC. Can’t.
Look. Him. In.
The. Eye. Seriously.
R: Touting education
in Massachusetts. And Obama is cutting
in.
BS: Defense spending.
R: Cut the
discretionary budget 5%, excluding the military. Cut ObamaCare. Get rid of programs we don’t have to
have. Keep Medicaid, but give it to the
states. Balanced budget in 8-10
years.
O: $5 trillion in tax
cuts. $2 trillion in military spending “that
they’re not asking for.” “The math
simply doesn’t work.” Says the guy who
hired a treasury secretary who can’t even pay his taxes. “keep the American people safe”
R: Balancing
budgets. “The president hasn’t balanced
a budget yet. I look forward for a
chance to do that.” Me too. Now he’s back to defense spending. “I will not cut our military budget.”
O: Wow. You condescending [feminine product].
Segment 3(?): Red
lines with Israel and Iran. An attack on
Israel is an attack on the US?
O: “Israel is a true
friend...greatest ally in the region.” “As
long as I’m president of the United States, Iran won’t have a nuclear weapon.” He’s saying their economy is in
shambles. And now he’s saying that the
world will unite against Iran. Um…pretty
sure Russia will stand with them. You
know, the guys you said you’d be more flexible with after the election?
R: Sanctions do
work. Tighten them. Diplomatic isolation. Indict Ackmadenijahad (or however the deuce
you spell that rat’s name – and, no, I’m not taking the time to Google
it).
O: Oh, he made it to
four seconds, looking him in the eye. So
proud. Now he’s saying that Russia and
China need to participate. Why don’t you
go tell their diplomats at the UN. Oh,
wait. You already did that. Another fail.
He’s droning on and on.
R: Iran sees weakness
in this administration. Totally calling
him out on wanting to sit down with Chavez and his ilk, as well as his apology
tour and inaction with Iranian protestors.
Now on to the “daylight between the US and Israel” comment. “It’s essential for a president to show
strength.” Preach.
O: Nuh-uh. Not true…blah, blah, blah. “When I came into office, the world was
divided.” Oh, and you fixed that?
R: “We’re four years
closer to a nuclear Iran.” Oh, that was
good. Totally called him on the apology
tour.
O: But, but,
but. He’s testy. “Who’s going to be credible to all parties
involved?” You have no credibility when
Israel is involved.
BS: Israel is sending
bombers to Iran. What do you say?
R: Let’s not assume
that scenario would play out. We’d talk
about it before it happens. Nice. “I see our influence receding.” Preach.
O: Calling him a
flip-flopper. Again. Broken record. And no record to run on. OBL reference. I’m bored.
9/11 reference. Says that getting
OBL gave closure, and that Romney wouldn’t have done it.
Segment (?): Afghanistan, what happens if the Afghans can’t
handle it?
R: We’re on schedule
to leave in 2014. Pakistan is important,
due to their nukes. Conditional aid to
Pakistan.
O: End the war in
Iraq, surge to Afghanistan. Time to do
nation building at home. With what
money? You keep saying that the wars are
on a credit card? So now you’re going to
put our roads and bridges on? Your Bank
of America credit card? Now he’s on to
putting veterans back to work. How about
all of the 23 million people looking for work?!
BS: Pretty sure he
just said “Obama’s bin Laden”. Not sure
if that was intentional, but I found it humorous. Anyhoo…is it time to “divorce” Pakistan?
R: No. Pakistan falling apart would be dangerous,
because they have nukes. Getting OBL was
the right thing to do, but we need to work with them now. We can’t walk away, but our support to them
needs to have conditions.
BS: What’s your
position on the use of drones?
R: He supports drone
strikes. We need to move the world away
from terrorism and Islamic extremism? “We’ve
not seen the progress we need to have.”
O: Ugh. I hate how he says “Pah-key-stahn”. It annoys me.
Though, his voice in general is annoying, but that word is a particular
offender. He’s propping up the alleged
alliances he’s helped forge with Tunisia, Yemen, etc.
Segment (?): The rise
of China. What’s the greatest national
security threat?
O: Greatest threat: terrorists. Make
China play by the same rules.
Trade task force. Is that like
your jobs task force that hasn’t met in, like, six months?
R: “It’s not
government that makes business successful.”
Greatest threat: a nuclear Iran. China:
be a partner, if they’re responsible.
They see as a weak. “If I’m
president, America will be very
strong.” “On day one, I’ll label them a
currency manipulator.”
BS: Trade war?
R: We don’t want a
trade war. Trade imbalance. We buy more from them than they buy from
us. Counterfeiting our goods,
manipulating currency, stealing intellectual property – this can’t go on.
O: He shipped jobs
overseas! I bet on American workers (at
least the ones that belong to unions)!
Sorry…I’m reading his mind, not quoting him. Invest in education and clean energy
technology. How’s that worked out for
you so far? I didn’t really follow any
of what he just said.
R: Obama said he
wanted to see us driving foreign cars, he’s refuting that statement. Obama is talking over him. So annoying, and disrespectful. I get that Obama is the president, but that doesn’t
give him a right to be a jerk.
Government investment in companies doesn’t work. Constant talk-over.
Back and forth.
O: Auto
industry. Blah, blah, blah. Education.
How did we get here? Back to the
military spending. Is he
malfunctioning? “After a decade…” Again, blaming Bush. “The same policies…” Doesn’t he realize that the Democrats ran the
show when he came into office?
R: He wants to not go
back to the policies of the last four years.
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania shout-outs.
They’re actually hold each others gaze.
I’m impressed.
BS: Closing
statements
O: Right into the
camera. Trying to play the humor card,
but now he’s right on to blaming Romney, class warfare, and the general DWS
talking points. Broken record. Point that finger. Taking points from Biden. Back to the roads and bridges. Oh, and he’s wearing the breast cancer
awareness bracelet. Realizes his poll
numbers with women is hanging in the balance.
R: Right into the
camera as well. We have a chance for
real leadership. Re-elect him, we’ll be
$20 trillion in the hole by 2016.
Jobs. Working across the
aisle. “This nation is the hope of the
earth.” Good wrap-up.
Okay. That was a
little more civil, but Romney won. Three
in a row. It was sort of close in some
points, because there weren’t huge differences on several issues. However, where there were disagreements on
domestic policy, Romney was the clear winner.
Actually, overall, it’s obvious that Romney is the real winner. Anyone with half a brain could see it – even someone
who doesn’t really care, or isn’t biased, like me. Continually saying that Romney is a
flip-flopper is not a good strategy. He
has no record to run on.
I’m done commentating.
This was a low-scoring “game”.
Obama 12, Romney 22
Let’s get this election over with. More on my thoughts as to how it will pan out
coming soon…
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