Ghost of George Bush haunted Mitt Romney in final debate -- A victory for Barack Obama by default as Romney lies low
Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at 08:15 AM
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| Mitt Romney and Barack Obama during their final presidential campaign debate |
There was a third candidate in the arena with Mitt Romney and Barack Obama last night as the ghost of George Bush hovered over the proceedings.
It was a night that was a clear victory for Obama. CBS had it 53 to 23 percent in their poll of undecided voters while CNN had it 48 to 40 percent in their poll of registered voters.
A battleground poll in the key swing states had voters there giving Obama 52 to 42 percent.
Overall Obama did himself some good and Romney certainly did not advance but it is debatable how much ground he lost.
Bush, like Banquo’s ghost in Macbeth, unsettled Romney enough that he never seemed to have Obama’s measure. He was strangely passive and defensive.
Obama had tried unsuccessfully to link Romney to Bush policies in the domestic debates but had failed—however. the shadows of Iraq and Afghanistan loomed too large for Romney to escape.
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As a result Mitt Romney came to play defense in the final debate but lost to a much more energized and feisty Barack Obama.
It was a strange performance by Romney who may have decided that he needed to look presidential and not a hothead when it came to international affairs.
What was clear was that Republicans still live in the shadow of George Bush and his failed presidency, especially on foreign affairs.
Romney knew he had to guard against reawakening echoes of the Bush era, now viewed as cowboy diplomacy at its worst.
In the process however, he was silent on Obama’s foreign policy.
The Benghazi incident that most debate watchers had predicted would be the biggest issue was hardly raised.
Obama mentioned Israel 43 times, a clear indication that he was safeguarding his nearly 4-1 lead among Jewish voters.
Romney mentioned how many times he agreed with Obama and seemed to punt every time he had the chance to go for it.
A puzzling debate that will have tongues wagging as to its ultimate impact for some days yet.
Here's the highlights from the debate:
77 comments
cillowen | Oct 23, 2012, 04:49 PM EDT
an empty suited parroting what Obama has done.
Like Lurch of that Munsters tele show some choice - what were repuggers thinking.
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Scrivner | Oct 23, 2012, 04:45 PM EDT
Romney acted more presidential than Obama, critisim of foreign affairs is a more dangerous game than critisism of domestic policy--therefore Mitt won respect. As to Obama's snarky remarks about the U.S.Navy now having aircraft carriers and submarines unlike 1914, got news for you: Naval aviation just observed it's 100th anniversary (a heavy cruiser was converted with a plank flight deck for biplanes to take off and land) and Mr Holland had already delivered an operational submirsible some years before. Mr Obama spent too much time in Hyde Park talking only with fantasy theoreticians like Bernadorn and her hubby Tom.
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michaelidaho | Oct 23, 2012, 04:20 PM EDT
eiriamach,
Wow, you actually believe, like Obama, that more clean energy, more math and science teachers and more financial regulation is going to cause the American economy to rebound. You do what Obama does best - critize the opponent's plan without offering anything of substance.
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AnneChambersUSA | Oct 23, 2012, 03:51 PM EDT
When you are standing in a hole, do not keep digging. Obama will not win, time to try a new crop.
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olovely | Oct 23, 2012, 03:43 PM EDT
Obama is going to win re-election. Take it to the bank.
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AnneChambersUSA | Oct 23, 2012, 03:42 PM EDT
"Cognitive Dissonance", Teabagger types, what kind of a person are you? I ask that my religious belief be honored, please do not attack me because I believe in the power of a pilgrimage made to Our Lady of Knock. I used the term "pull the wool over our eyes, when perhaps I should have said, bring our nation and our world back to their values which come down by placing God at the top of our list, bring back and save the innocent babies being murdered, the families suffering because of the current economic state, etc.
For those that do not remember about the Apparition of Our Lady of Knock: Some months before the Apparition, Archdeacon Cavanagh made known to his parishioners his plan to say one hundred masses for the souls in purgatory which our Blessed Mother wished released. These masses were completed shortly before the Apparition.
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readabook | Oct 23, 2012, 03:17 PM EDT
I cannot believe the "Cognitive Dissonance" of you Teabagger types. It's enough to turn my Centrist hide into a lefty liberal. Obama lost the first debate and Democrats admitted it. Today's Repubs with your Teabagger bosses remind me of a Boxer who gets counted his arms in victory.
Romney discussed Foreign Policy after being relentlessly drilled by his advisors and his wooden responses reflected it.
Obama,gave him a lesson in Foreign Affairs.
You keep praising Ronald Reagan but you don't represent anything that he stood for and I'm sure that he,Kemp,Ford,etal are turning over in their graves based on what's happened to their party.
You selfish neocons don't get it! Obama is a Centrist and his ideology is closer to Reagans (as was Clinton's) then yours will ever be. Be brave though, Donald Trump has declared that tomorrow he will have some "unbelievable news" about Obama
that will all but 'seal the' election for Romney! Can't Wait ! (Can You!)
PS to Anne Chambers
"Our Lady of Knock has heard my prayers"
I Don't think she gets involved in "Teabagger politics".
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KatieMurphy | Oct 23, 2012, 03:02 PM EDT
Romney flat out lied by omision - still a sin - In one of the debates he said that GM went bankrupt despite the govt help............What Gm did was go into re-organizition bankruptcy. It saved the company and 200,000 people have jobs there now, many others in suppliers to GM
The Republicans wanted to let GM go totally bust - so that people like bain or others would have another shot to sell off GMs assets for a profit...........Most likely buyer for thed plants / machinery - Red China - our economic and military competitor in the world.........BTW Romney is a bishop in his Mormon church. HE should be totally ashamed of what he did with his misleading statements. But his pride triumphs honesty ..................................................................................BTW Obamacare is almost identical and was modeled on Romney care in MA. His party's platform shows they would sell out their own values for votes. ..........Obamacare is about protecting life.
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Canal Rat | Oct 23, 2012, 02:51 PM EDT
Obama told "an untruth" about Romney and the auto industry. I just checked the Op Ed piece he wrote. In the op-ed, Romney said he thought the government should play a role in handling a managed bankruptcy. “The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing,” Romney wrote in the op-ed. “A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.”
Which is exactly what Romney said last night.
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AnneChambersUSA | Oct 23, 2012, 02:30 PM EDT
Obama, is chomh brean le pluais an mhadarua.
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Nicomax | Oct 23, 2012, 02:17 PM EDT
The Mitt looked just like the former investment guy is was, who stepped into politics as something else to do once he was swimming in coins, but was not familiar with some of the key issues impacting a president other than cutting taxes and regulations. He could be a more of an empty vessel than Bush was, and thus subject to even more dangerous neocon follies.
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mok1030 | Oct 23, 2012, 02:15 PM EDT
mitti is a successful business man per his claims. he knows how balance the budget per his claim... why then is his campaign 11million and change american dollars in the red. doesnt seem very balanced to me. also excessive blinking is a nervous liers tell. much like excessive water drinking ryan.
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AnneChambersUSA | Oct 23, 2012, 02:10 PM EDT
Nial, No one can deny the Great Famine in Ireland, it was one of the most tragic and defining moments of Irish history. There will be another one of those moments affecting not only the US, Ireland, but the entire world if Obama is elected to serve another term as President.
The liberals watch CNN, the conservatives watch FOX, and the “one nation under God” intelligent voters keep abreast of the economy, terrorist, debt, killing of unborn children, the murder of thousands all over the world, and the elected officials who allow all of the above.
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Searlit | Oct 23, 2012, 02:05 PM EDT
I was thinking the same thing - that Mitt Romney acted defensive.
The way he explained his stance on Foreign Affairs such as Iran's capacity for nuclear arms and Syria's importance, geographically to Iran, sounded like gobbledygook.
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