By Neil Dhillon
What a night! After two hotly contentious debates between President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney, the pair wrapped up their debate schedule with a tense discussion on foreign policy that was high on drama but short on specifics.
Obama may have moved the needle a slight bit and gotten some of the 10% undecided voters on his side by crediting his administration's military plan in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the continued pursuit to stop Iran from nuclear capability. He strongly defended his plan on troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and taking steps to return security measures back to Afghan's own military. Obama was strong, confident, and emotional about the loss of life in Libya, 9/11, and military wars under his watch.
As in debate number two, Romney vigorously challenged Obama on the lapse of security at the U.S. Embassy in Libya and turning his back on Israel. Romney has certainly done a brilliant job at all three debates, and clearly demonstrated to the American public that he is prepared to assume the presidency role. But foreign policy would definitely require on-the-job training, as he appeared to have few details on managing the Middle East, Pakistan, China, and Iran.
In my opinion, Romney needed more specifics on what he hopes to accomplish rather than state the obvious that “we cannot afford another four years of Obama rule.”
With 14 short days before the elections, we will undoubtedly see another flurry of commercials, press conferences and perhaps some wild new character accusations; Donald Trump is apparently making another birther proclamation this week. Many undecided voters will likely wait until election day to determine which lever to pull.
After the conventions, debates, and ads, the power of incumbency will likely give the nod to Obama. Regardless, these three presidential debates have been simply terrific, contentious and wildly entertaining, and have had most of the world watching.
Now, with the polling numbers still close, will election night determine a winner or will tabulating the swing states drag this out?
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Neil Dhillon is managing director of MSL Washington DC and leads the firm’s public affairs practice. |