Summing Up The Second Presidential Debate

Last night the second of three Presidential Debate was held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Below are summary comments by various people.

Kerby Anderson, Point Of View, included in his summary the following comments: "The format and the questions might have helped the president, but it didn’t help him very much. He certainly did better in the second debate than the first debate. But he didn’t offer many specifics. Since his State-of-the-Union speech this year, we have heard him talk about wanting to hire 100,000 more teachers. He talked about wanted to “invest” in solar, wind, and bio-fuels. Of course, he didn’t say how to pay for many of his spending ideas other than to talk about taxing the rich. Most of the time, President Obama spent his debate time attacking Governor Romney.

"Governor Romney explained to the voters last night that “if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a repeat of the last four years. We just can’t afford four more years like the last four years.”

"I should also say something about the moderator. Candy Crowley made it clear before the debate that she wasn’t merely going to call on people to ask questions. Sometimes she was going to insert herself into the discussion. She did exactly that.

"Some pointed out that President Obama was given more time than Governor Romney. Others pointed out that Candy Crowley interrupted Governor Romney 28 times and only interrupted President Obama 9 times. All of that is true, but she will probably be remembered most for her decision to (as one commentator put it) put her “thumb on the scales” in favor of President Obama."

Gary Bauer, Campaign For Working Families, included in his comments: "As the polls indicate, Governor Romney scored well on the economy. Time and again Romney brought the debate back to the idea that Obama is trying to make you afraid of Romney's plans because Obama has no plans, and that the next four years will be same as last four -- full of broken promises, bigger government and higher taxes. Governor Romney gave one of his best answers on the economy in response to a question from Michael Jones, a black man who is disappointed with Barack Obama's performance. Here's an excerpt of Gov. Romney's response to Mr. Jones: "I think you know that these last four years haven't been as good as the president just described…I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you're going to get. You're going to get a repeat of the last four years. We just can't afford four more years like the last four years.

"He said that by now we'd have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work. … This is a president who has not been able to do what he said he'd do. He said that he'd cut in half the deficit. He hasn't done that either. In fact, he doubled it. …

"The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, 'Look, I've created 5 million jobs.' That's after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country. …How about the growth of the economy? It's growing more slowly this year than last year, and more slowly last year than the year before. …

"You might say, 'Well, you got an example of one that worked better?' Yeah, in the Reagan recession where unemployment hit 10.8 percent… Ronald Reagan's recovery created twice as many jobs as this president's recovery. …

"The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. He's great as a speaker and describing his plans and his vision. That's wonderful, except we have a record to look at. … That's what this election is about. It's about who can get the middle class in this country a bright and prosperous future and assure our kids the kind of hope and optimism they deserve.""Governor Romney clearly won the first debate. This one appears to be a draw with a number of missed opportunities. But I think both events will end up winners for Mitt Romney. Here's why.

"Governor Romney has been subjected to a $700 million smear campaign meant to convince Americans that Mitt Romney is an extremist, out-of-touch and mean man who doesn't care about us. But in two debates they have seen someone who is compassionate and capable -- in a word: presidential.

"These two 90-minute events essentially neutralized Obama's year-long negative ad barrage. And they have given "permission" to millions of Americans to vote for Mitt Romney."

Dick Morris, political adviser to Bill Clinton and Political strategist, Fox News analyst, said: "Romney Won The Second Debate!  By scoring big on the economy, gas prices, and Libya, Romney continued his victorious string of debate wins. He looked more presidential than Obama did and showed himself to be an articulate, capable, attractive, compassionate leader with sound ideas.

"Obama came over as boorish and Biden-esque. He did not learn from his Vice President's mistakes. When a president gets into a bar room brawl, he loses his dignity and his aura, key assets for an incumbent. Romney was polite but firm. Obama seemed quarrelsome, frustrated, nasty, and cranky.

"But the key reason for the Romney win was substantive:1. Romney made very clear the case against Obama's economic record and Obama's rebuttal about 5 million jobs was pathetic.
2. Romney injected the China issue, big time, and tapped into a strong public sentiment on the issue.
3. Romney made the effective case that Obama is anti-oil, coal, and gas and that this has doubled gas prices.
4. Romney was very effective in differentiating himself from Bush-43 and in establishing that, unlike the GOP of the past, he was for small businesses not big businesses
5. Romney rebutted the attacks on him over Chinese investments.
6. Romney explained his tax plan well and to everyone's satisfaction.
7. Obama erred in trying to make us believe that he always felt Libya was a terror attack. We all heard him blame the movie."Rick Manning, Americans For Limited Government, included in his wrap-up: "In terms of the debate itself, the one thing that stood out was that Mitt Romney was, once again, the alpha male on the stage.  He did not back down when confronted by outright falsehoods by Obama and challenged him mano y mano on the president’s lie that energy production was increasing due to his policies.

"On matters of substance, Romney continually hammered Obama’s failed record including his broken promise to introduce and pass comprehensive immigration reform in his first year as president, along with the tragic increase in the number of people on food stamps, America’s dramatic drop in per capita income, and Obama’s throwing his body in front of the building of the Keystone XL pipeline costing thousands of jobs.

"Additionally, once again, Romney successfully fended off attacks on his concrete proposals for America’s future, while Obama was allowed to float by on rhetoric that neither offered a detailed vision for his priorities or how he would actually put America back to work.

"When the debate focused upon the real lives of Americans, Romney dominated Obama by giving specific answers that contrast with the reality of the past four years of failed Obama policies."

Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service twittered during and after the debate; below are a few of his tweets. Dr. Bill - OzarkGuru @arra:Romney did great for having to debate 2 liberals - Obama and Crowley. In sports, we would have called a foul. #2012debate #debate #tcot

#Obama is trying to steal some cheap points in the last minutes. He never answered the question about how people perceive him. #debate2012

#Obama just lied checked 9/12 transcript of Obama response in the Rose Garden; he did not say the attack was an act of terrorism #2012debate

#Obama - You do not greet caskets - you meet them! #2012debate

#Obama "When it comes to Nat'l Security, I mean what I say!" What do you mean? Do you not mean everything else? #2012debate #tcot #sgp

#Obama in responding to the Benghazi says - believe me - I mean what I say (; #2012debate

#Obama uses code words implying racism - the police stopping people who look like my daughters or you. #2012debate #debate

#Obama Did I just hear Obama say he has 2 daughters & wants them to be able to go to Planned Parenthood for mammograms? #Debate2012 #loser

#Romney During the last 4 yrs, jobs for women are down 580,000. We need a strong economy so there are jobs for men and women. #Debate2012

RT @Heritage Let's talk about this number: $16,000,000,000,000 Debt http://herit.ag/Q7pnI4 #debate #tcot #sgp

#Obama claims that the gas prices was $1.86 because the economy was on the verge of collapse. What has he been drinking #debate2012 #debates

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