The Third and Final Presidential Debate of 2012
Tonight is the night of the third (and final) Presidential Debate of 2012. It well be held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida and will begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. Pacific. Bob Schieffer of CBS News, host of Face the Nation, will be the debate moderator. The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy. It will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator. (The campaigns already know what those topics will be.)
Shieffer has announced that the topics will be America’s role in the world, the war in Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program and the possible strike by Israel, global terrorism and relations with China and other emerging global powers.
The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic. The debate is sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Leading up to the debate, today the Obama campaign released an attack which attempts to paint Governor Romney as a warmonger. 'A decade of war that cost us dearly. And now for president, a clear choice: President Obama ended the Iraq War,' the ad says. It goes on to state:
"Mitt Romney would have left 30,000 troops there and called bringing them home 'tragic'. Obama's brought 30,000 soldiers back from Afghanistan and has a responsible plan to end the war. Romney calls it Obama's biggest mistake. It's time to stop fighting over there and start rebuilding here"
Republicans say that in fact, Obama tried to negotiate with the Iraq government for 10,000 troops to stay in the country. It was only because talks collapsed that all troops were withdrawn - under an agreement brokered by President George W. Bush. They add that President Obama has brought back 30,000 troops from Afghanistan but these were the 30,000 'surge' troops he ordered there in December 2009. Current troops levels are about 68,000 - more than twice when Obama entered the White House.
Romney currently leads by a paper-thin 0.3 per cent nationally in the RealClearPolitics poll of averages. Obama is down seven in the Gallup tracking poll, down two in the Rasmussen poll. He has seen his leads in Florida and Virginia disappear and his Ohio advantage whittled down considerably. The latest NBC/WSJ poll, which had Obama three points ahead before the debates, now puts the two candidates dead level on 47 points each among likely voters with six per cent undecided. Most pundits and post-debate polls gave Obama the advantage over Romney following the second debate, but he has not seen much improvement in the polls.
The incredibly close election of 2012 continues!
Shieffer has announced that the topics will be America’s role in the world, the war in Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program and the possible strike by Israel, global terrorism and relations with China and other emerging global powers.
The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic. The debate is sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Leading up to the debate, today the Obama campaign released an attack which attempts to paint Governor Romney as a warmonger. 'A decade of war that cost us dearly. And now for president, a clear choice: President Obama ended the Iraq War,' the ad says. It goes on to state:
"Mitt Romney would have left 30,000 troops there and called bringing them home 'tragic'. Obama's brought 30,000 soldiers back from Afghanistan and has a responsible plan to end the war. Romney calls it Obama's biggest mistake. It's time to stop fighting over there and start rebuilding here"
Republicans say that in fact, Obama tried to negotiate with the Iraq government for 10,000 troops to stay in the country. It was only because talks collapsed that all troops were withdrawn - under an agreement brokered by President George W. Bush. They add that President Obama has brought back 30,000 troops from Afghanistan but these were the 30,000 'surge' troops he ordered there in December 2009. Current troops levels are about 68,000 - more than twice when Obama entered the White House.
Romney currently leads by a paper-thin 0.3 per cent nationally in the RealClearPolitics poll of averages. Obama is down seven in the Gallup tracking poll, down two in the Rasmussen poll. He has seen his leads in Florida and Virginia disappear and his Ohio advantage whittled down considerably. The latest NBC/WSJ poll, which had Obama three points ahead before the debates, now puts the two candidates dead level on 47 points each among likely voters with six per cent undecided. Most pundits and post-debate polls gave Obama the advantage over Romney following the second debate, but he has not seen much improvement in the polls.
The incredibly close election of 2012 continues!