EPTThe topic of tonight's debate was foreign policy, however it should be stated, ALL the newsgroups pre-debate were saying to not be surprised that both candidates would link foreign policy to policy at home, and that things such as the economy would undoubtedly come up.
The questions tonight were:
1. Was the response to the attack in Benghazi, Libya a policy failure?"
I missed the first question, however, this has been addressed in all three debates prior and I doubt anything new was brought up that hadn't already been said. Obama said here of Romney's foreign policy: “I’m glad that you recognize that Al Qaeda is a threat because a few months ago when you were asked ‘what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America,’ you said ‘Russia.’ Not Al Qaeda, you said Russia. The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. The Cold War has been over for 20 years.”
2. Given growing violence in Syria, should we assess policy, or is the situation impossible?
People on reddit were claiming that Romney said exactly what Obama said as an answer to this question. Obama's main points were that he wanted to support the moderate parties in Syria, but did not want to get involved militarily. Romney said something kind of similar, however, he also added that he wanted to get a pro-western government instated AND give them the weapons they need to defend themselves. Romney also misspoke here, saying that Syria was Iran's path to the sea, when it clearly is not.
3. Do you have and regrets about supporting the Egyptian revolution and the deposition of President Mubarak?
Both candidates focused on the latter parts of this question. Obama stated he was confident that Mubarak would not be president for much longer, Romney echoed this statement.
4. What is America's role in the world?
Both candidates said that America was the leader in the world and had a responsibility. Since the question is kind of open ended, both candidates went off topic and things such as education and the economy were brought up.
5. What levels of military spending are appropriate in a weak economy?
This is a large portion of where the two candidates differ.
Obama argued that the US has a strong military, and that we need to keep our strength. His military budget did not cut any military funding, and he was working with military leaders to come up with an effective, encompassing plan. He then called out Romney, saying that Romney wanted to give 2 trillion dollars more to the military that they hadn't asked for.
Romney argued that he wanted to keep out military strong because we don't know what difficulties the US will face in the future, and that we have to be prepared. He claimed that our navy and air force are at weak points and he wants to strengthen them. This led to the zinger of the night, when Obama quipped that we also have fewer horses and bayonets. He then went on to explain that we had aircraft carriers, which are boats that have planes land on them, and boats that can go underwater called nuclear submarines. I personally thought this was hilarious.
6. What limits, or red lines, would you establish for action against Iran on behalf of Israel? also asked: if Israel was attacked, would you stand with them?
This was basically a question about Iran, neither candidate addressed the exact question, but both spoke on the topic of Iran. Romney reiterated Ryan's argument from the VP debate in that Obama showed weakness abroad, and that Iran was 4 years closer to having nuclear technology. Obama talked about his policy efforts in the region and about how the US was working with allies such as Israel, Yemen and Jordan. Both candidates endorsed sanctions, with military action as a last resort. Both also claimed that they would stand with Israel if it were attacked.
7. What would you do if Afghanistan is not ready for a transition of power in 2014?
Again, neither candidate really addressed the specific question, however, both stated that they stood by the 2014 removal date. I read on reddit that apparently Romney/Ryan had been opposed to the 2014 date specifically in debates prior. Obama made mention of how we had started to forget why we had gone to Afghanistan in the first place, and then summarized his administrations actions there and said that he had weakened Al Qaeda. Romney in turn stated that Al Qaeda wasn't weaker, so I guess it depends on who you ask.
8. Would you distance yourself from Pakistan?
Both candidates said no. Romney said that he wouldn't divorce Pakistan, a country with 100 nuclear warheads that is still making more.
9. How should we approach policy towards China?
This question caused both candidates to talk about the economy. Romney stated that there was a huge trade discrepancy between the United States and China, and that he would make jobs in America, Obama talked about how Romney had invested in businesses that had sent jobs to China.
All in all a pretty fair debate I would say. I felt that both candidates offered reasonable views on foreign policy. I myself favored Obama's policies of not giving weapons to parties in Syria to defend themselves (but supporting the moderate parties, which both candidates said they would do). I also like that Obama will not increase the military budget. In my personal view it should be decreased. But stable is much better than giving it MORE money. In my opinion, to much flak is put on the President by organizations such as Fox news that blame the president when anything at all happens in the Middle East. There's only so much the United States can and should do, we shouldn't be putting our fingers everywhere there. I think less involvement would be much better, let them in the middle east handle their own problems.
Feel free to discuss TL! However, please try to keep the stuff about the Obama zinger to a minimum. Yes it was funny, we get it.
Poll: Who won the debate tonight?
President Obama (14)
88%
Governor Romney (2)
13%
16 total votes
Governor Romney (2)
16 total votes
Your vote: Who won the debate tonight?
Poll: Who will you be voting for?
President Obama (6)
46%
3rd Party (6)
46%
Governor Romney (1)
8%
Undecided (0)
0%
13 total votes
3rd Party (6)
Governor Romney (1)
Undecided (0)
13 total votes
Your vote: Who will you be voting for?
(Vote): Governor Romney
(Vote): President Obama
(Vote): 3rd Party
(Vote): Undecided
