Presidential debates provide that voters with a one on one access to the presidential nominees hence priming some of their considerations. The debates also appeals to the voters to look at a given topic from a different point of view. This help the voters to evaluate the candidates based on their approaches to those topics. Voters also get the chance to learn about current issues, events and conditions that prevail in US. Apart from the information, voters also acquire more information about the candidates’ characters through the way they communicate their points.
The first 2012 presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was held on October 3rd 2012 at University of Denver, Colorado. Focusing on this debate, the two presidential hopefuls spared over tax-cut proposals, regulation and deficit-reduction plans. This debate was marked with a lot of respect and cordial atmosphere. To the president, the debate coincided with his wedding anniversary. He begun by arguing for federal spending on new energy sources and education and challenged Mr. Romney’s tax approach citing that it had failed the economic test of time. He claimed that the move would deny the government $5 billion especially from the wealthy. In response to this, Mr. Romney argued that President Obama’s government would only increase on small businesses which are the job creators. He also defended his tax proposal. The candidates’ arguments revolved around policy specifics such as Medicare, the role played by small businesses in the tax code and the setting of mortgage regulations. The two candidates respectfully critiqued each others’ policies. However, their core differences were shown in the way they responded to questions. This first debate favored Mitt Romney and he towered above the President.
The second presidential debate came along on the October 16th. two week later. This debate was held at Hofstra University in New York. During this second debating arena, the president gained momentum. He gave Romney a very powerful critique on his plans for the tax reduction, energy and bit of foreign policy. President Barack Obama said that Mitt Romney has a policy that can only offer solutions to the Americans at a narrow perspective. Like china and Germany, President Obama wants a plan that considers twenty years to come. Such plan should there be based on clean energy harnessing strategies rather than oil and coal. In this way, he challenged Governor Romney of hi plan that revolves only around oil and coal. President once again corners Mitt Romney to explain his tax cut policy. He accuses him of concealing a lot of information from the public.
On the other hand, Romney challenged the President’s job creation formula. He argued that many youths who graduate from colleges cannot be absorbed fully the job market. In fact he stressed that the country is worse off in employment with President Obama’s government than before. He pledges to create enough job opportunities by 2014 and the college graduates will have satisfying employment opportunities.
The third and the last debate concentrated on foreign policy. The debate took place on 22nd of October at Lynn University, Boca Raton in Florida. President Obama challenged Romney that he is inexperienced to handle foreign policies of the US. He cited that he is very inconsistent in his vision. Romney counteracted this by saying that Obama has been weak and ineffective on the international turmoil.
The matter at the center stage was the Middle East uprisings, the Iranian nuclear weapon plan and the US treatment of Israel. The two candidates showed divergent approaches they have in their policies. However, they seem to have a level ground at some point. In this final debate, President Barack Obama once again outweighed his opponent. He confidently and superbly stood for his policies thus winning the viewers support. Since the last debate has the biggest weight as compared to the previous two, the President seems to have added more points to his score card. He stressed that Romney’s policies are old fashioned and could not match the present needs of the United States citizens. In his own words, Obama said, ‘you seem to import the foreign policies of 1980s, just like the social policies of 1950s and the economic policies of 1920s.’
Apart from the foreign policy, they also debated on other matters of voters’ interest. These included jobs, the economy and the US budget, Romney’s tax plan and the school class sizes. Even though the moderator tried to glue them to the foreign policy and national security, they often redressed the issues introducing this paragraph.
In conclusion, the first debate greatly boosted Romney’s ambition over the president Obama’s policies. He recorded a very aggressive performance against the president. However, Barack Obama came into the second and the third diabetes with a completely unique style that seemed superior to Mitt Romney. This ended up according the President remarkable victory in the last two debates.
Works cited
Majella, Kilkey, Gaby Ramia and Kevin Farnsworth. ". Social Policy Review 24: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2012, Volume 24 , ." The Policy Press (2012): 122-154.
