The third presidential debate was the two presidential candidates last chance to voice their opinions and sides to the American people before the election of 2012 that will be taking place on Nov. 6, 2012. While watching the debate there was much tension between the two candidates because they knew this was the last time before the country would decide their fates. Their main focus through out the debate was foreign policy issues. The moderator for this debate was Bob Schieffer.
He stated in an ABC article, “People are watching to judge character. I don’t think it matters what the questions are about, what matters is how candidates answer. Do they seem in control? I’m just there to help the viewers get a better understanding of who these people are.”
Unfortunately, there was much confusion and flub up on statements that the two candidates made that were wrong. For example, Mitt Romney inaccurately got the Middle East geography wrong, while Barack Obama got Romney’s experience as being Massachusetts’s governor wrong.
This occurred when Romney stated how he “got a four-year, tuition-free ride at any Massachusetts public institution or higher learning.” After that statement was issued Obama came out and said,” That happened before you came into office.” The actual facts was that Romney was right all along, because the John and Abigail Adams scholarship program began in 2004 when he was governor.
Also, another flub up in the facts was when Romney said, “Syria is Iran’s only ally in the Arab world. It’s their route to the sea.” The fact is that Iran has a large southern coastline with access to the Persian Gulf of Oman. Iran has no land border with Syria.
The part in the debate that really caught my eye was when Mitt Romney stated facts against Barack Obama that were incredible to learn.
“Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel,” Romney said. When Romney stated this I was roaring with excitement because I bet that not a lot of Americans knew about how Obama skipped Israel on his so-called “apology tour.”
Obama did have a statement to protect himself from this humiliation. “Nothing Gov. Romney just said is true, starting with this notion of me apologizing. This has been probably the biggest whopper that’s been told during the course of this campaign. And every fact checker and every reporter who’s looked at it, governor, has said this is not true,” Obama said.
This is when the debate got extra competitive between both candidates. Whenever someone had his or her two minutes to answer the moderator’s questions, there was always one person talking over the other person.
Overall, the last debate was a success. Both candidates were able to explain at the end why they should be the next president of the United States. Each candidate stated their reasoning’s and comments confidently. Even Romney stated at the end, “When I am president.”
