New York – Tuesday’s town hall-style presidential debate focused overwhelmingly on domestic and economic issues, but some of the sharpest exchanges came on the topic of the Middle East. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney launched a sweeping critique of the US Administration’s policy in the region, terming President Barack Obama “weak” and saying that his policies led to negative developments in Syria, Iran, Egypt and Libya.
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“The president’s policies throughout the Middle East began with an apology tour and pursue a strategy of leading from behind, and this strategy is unraveling before our very eyes,” Romney charged. “We have Iran four years closer to a nuclear bomb. Syria – Syria’s not just the tragedy of 30,000 civilians being killed by a military, but also a strategic – strategically significant player for America.”
Regarding Libya, where a US ambassador and three other American citizens were killed when terrorists stormed the US consulate compound in Benghazi, Romney attacked the president for failing to put necessary security measures in place. “This was not a demonstration,” Romney said in an attempt to attack the administration on what he claims is misinformation over whether or not the incident was a terrorist act. “This was an attack.”
Obama responded that the day after the attack, “I stood in the Rose Garden and said this was an act of terror, and I said we were going to get those that were behind this.”
Romney challenged that the president actually took 14 days to admit that the attack was a terrorist act, an allegation which was repudiated by the debate moderator Candy Crowley and by Obama.
Obama and Romney also disagreed over the economy, with the president attacking the Republican challenger over his economic plan. “Governor Romney says he’s got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn’t have a five-point plan, he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules,” he said.
Romney accused his rival of overseeing a stagnant economy. “The middle class has been crushed over the last four years and jobs have been too scarce,” the former Massachusetts governor said.
Turning to energy policy, Romney chided the president for what he said was a policy discouraging domestic production. Obama is not “Mr. Coal, Mr. Gas, Mr. Oil,” Romney said. “We can get all the energy we need right now in North America without going to the Arabs or Venezuela.”
Obama responded that Romney’s energy plan would do nothing for US energy independence and would risk destroying thousands of jobs.
CNN polling of registered voters following the event showed 46 percent of respondents believed US President Barack Obama won the debate, while 39% believed Republican challenger Mitt Romney won.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
The real question is who believes CNN.
Romney is quickly pushing back to a 3rd party candidate. That half-wit Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) is more articulate than Romney and is now looking more attractive. At least he can tell me the details of what he’d like to do.
I don’t understand why neither Romney or Ryan are willing to give one single detail on how they will make anything better than what we have today.
Obama may not be my choice, but I understand why people are voting for him. He will tell exactly what his goals are and the DETAILS of how he plans to achieve them. Romney just keeps refusing to do it.
Mr. Romney, after Bush’s economic and military failures, nobody is willing to vote for the “nice guy” candidate anymore. We NEED the details, because we’ve learned to trust NOBODY. Every single independent fact-checking organization and think tank has stated that there is no way your financial plan works. The numbers, from the little bit you’re willing to tell us, do not add up. Even several Conservative (independent of the Republican Party) groups have tested your “general” plan without the details and can’t see any way that you can deliver on the promise.
Give us the details, or go home.
Romney defenetely won the debate!!! And congratulations for winning both Debates!!! Go check out all the lies the president said by the debate…
Just saw quite a few houses with Romney yard signs and an empty chair next to the sign. This may become a trend in Ohio after the second debate.
Sorry people but Obama definitely won. He was passionate, presidential, and detailed what his plans are. I don’t know who to vote dor
Despite what our resident Obama apologist #2 PMOinFl thinks, there is no doubt Romney had a good debate against both Obama AND the “objective” Moderator. Granted Romney should have ‘hit’ harder with many points. When the president decried Romney “only” paying 14% in income tax, Romney should have used that as a teaching monent to Obama and the nation as to how the tax code works. He should have said he ALREADY paid the 40% when he earned the money the first time!
When Obama used his petty classless warfare line of “you have a better pension” Romney should have retorted with 1) I’ve been more successful than you and 2) I’ve actually WORKED REAL JOBS in my life.
All in all, I was so frustrated with Obama’s answers and pettiness, I wanted to toss my computer out the window.
VOTE DEM OUT IN 2012!!!!
Killing all the rich people worked out real well in the Soviet Union. All the Communist Party people were the ones living high off the hog while the working stiffs had nothing and had to depend on government for everything – that’s how the Dems want it to work here!
Excuse me those who think Obama won!
Just because someone speaks passionately and with great emphasis and interrupts often, does not prove he is correct.
I don’t know what is genuine about Obama. Many people insist his real name is Barry Soetoro. We can’t look at his elementary school records! His transcripts from Harvard are missing. The people who were i his class in Columbia do not remember him at all; that means the 212 fellow classmates who can’t figure out how he got on Columbia’s records; that research was done by the Wall Street Journal. And of course, after stalling for two years after he was elected, he then produced a birth certificate that is heavily loaded with mistakes and recopies of copies.
So, essentially, some people insist on voting for someone we know nothing about and even though they see that he made promises and broke them, they still want to vote for him and give him yet another four years.
The bottom line is the USA cannot afford four more years of Obama/Biden.
END OF STORY!