The presidential debate series concluded on Oct. 22 at Lynn U. in Boca Raton, Fla., with a discussion of foreign policy matters, though occasionally discussion turned toward the all-important issue of the economy.
The debate was moderated by CBS News’ Bob Schieffer, who divided the evening into segments.
The first segment focused on a changing Middle East and the threat of terrorism, and the first question dealt with Libya.
Romney stressed the importance of taking a firm stance against terrorism, even commending Obama for taking out Osama bin Laden and cracking down on al-Qaida.
Obama criticized Romney for changing his position on foreign conflict issues, while defending his handling of the situation in Libya.
“So what we need to do with respect to the Middle East is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map,” Obama said.
Schieffer then directed the discussion toward Syria, a country whose militant situation is escalating.
Both Obama and Romney agreed that it is necessary to tread cautiously when considering becoming involved in a military conflict, and the importance is on helping the country defend itself and determine its own future while hoping for a removal of the nation’s leader, Assad.
In the second segment, Schieffer asked the candidates to outline their view of America’s role in the world.
Romney highlighted the privilege of democracy and America’s duty to extend democracy internationally through leadership.
“But in order to be able to fulfill our role in the world, America must be strong,” Romney said. “America must lead.”
Romney stated his belief in the economy as the key to U.S. leadership, turning the debate briefly in that direction with the rehashing of talking points that were already mentioned in the previous debates.
Schieffer questioned Romney’s proposals for a bigger military, hoping to hear where the money would come from.
“Come on our Web site, you’ll look at how we get to a balanced budget within eight to 10 years,” Romney said.
The third segment dealt with red lines, Israel and Iran, the first question regarding whether or not either candidate would declare that an attack on Israel is an attack on the U.S.
Obama made clear that he would stand with Israel, as did Romney. Both also seem to promote a no-tolerance policy with regards to Iran.
The next question of the third segment addressed rumors that the U.S. has agreed to discuss Iran’s nuclear program as part of an international group.
“They are not true,” Obama said. “But our goal is to get Iran to recognize it needs to give up its nuclear program and abide by the U.N. resolutions that have been in place, because they have the opportunity to re-enter the community of nations, and we would welcome that.”
Romney questioned America’s current ability to appear strong in the face of international adversaries.
“I think they saw weakness where they had expected to find American strength,” Romney said, referring to Iran.
The fourth segment picked the candidates’ brains on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“We have not seen the progress we need to have, and I’m convinced that with strong leadership and an effort to build a strategy based upon helping these nations reject extremism, we can see the kind of peace and prosperity the world demands,” Romney said.
The next segment probed the candidates for what they perceived to be the greatest future threat to America’s national security.
Obama answered by saying terrorist networks, while Romney said a nuclear Iran.
Closing statements for the debate focused on the future and the candidates’ promises for a brighter one.
“And if I have the privilege of being your president for another four years, I promise you I will always listen to your voices, I will fight for your families and I will work every single day to make sure that America continues to be the greatest nation on earth,” Obama said.
Romney promised much of the same.
“I’d like to be the next president of the United States to support and help this great nation, and to make sure that we all together maintain America as the hope of the earth,” Romney said.
Though the debate focused primarily on foreign policy, but to some young voters, a topic was missing: climate change.
Many student organizations attended the debate hoping to hear from the candidates on this topic, including Tallahassee Dream Defenders, Power Vote from seven Florida universities, the Florida State U. Environmental Service Program, Progress Coalition and Democracy Matters.
Gladys Nobriga, a major coordinator for the organizations, believes the candidates should not be silent on the issue of climate change.
“I believe climate change is an important topic because it will ultimately influence a plethora of other issues in a positive way,” Nobriga said.
Trying to get the candidates to talk about it is difficult, however.
“Some of the ways I am actively engaging candidates to break the silence on climate change and discuss their ideas to pursue a clean energy future is by bird-dogging which means going to an elected official’s speaking event to call them to action or to ask them to take a leadership role on an issue,” Nobriga said.
Perhaps not all voters heard the candidates discuss the issues important to them, but many registered voters still offered their opinion to CNN, whose poll showed 48 percent favoring Obama as the winner and 40 percent favoring Romney.