He’s baaaaaaaack!
With exactly three weeks to go, and the presidency on the line, , Obama needed to rebound in his second showdown against Romney to erase the bad memories of the first. He also needed a strong performance in Tuesday night’s second presidential debate to energize the Democratic base and win over independent voters. And he did just that.
The 2nd 2012 Presidential debate which was held at Hofstra University on Long Island Tuesday night and moderated by CNN’s chief political correspondent Candy Crowley, was a Town Hall forum in which both candidates answered questions from uncommitted voters. While President Obama this time was energized and focused, Mitt Romney’s attack strategy backfired on him making him seem boorish, thugish and disrespectful of the venue especially when a mere 15 minutes into the debate Romney threw the negotiated rules out the window and purposely started asking pointed questions to The President and constantly tried to talk over moderator Crowley by eating time to evade questions and then take more than his alloted time which Crowley handled professionally and with a firm hand stopping Romney in his tracks many times throughout the night.
On the facts…….
Fact-Check: Automatic Weapons – When Mr. Romney was asked about his position on gun control, he erred when he said “We, of course, don’t want to have automatic weapons, and that’s already illegal in this country to have automatic weapons.”
The sale of new fully automatic machine guns to civilians has been outlawed since 1986, older machine guns were grandfathered into the law and can be sold to civilians in certain states. The law, posted on the Web site of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms contains a section called “transfer or possession of machine guns.”
Fact-Check: Different From Bush? – Romney was asked how he and former President George W. Bush were different, he said they were different people and because the times were different, “my five-point plan is so different from what he would have done.”
Romney’s five-point plan, which is light on specifics, is an echo of the platform that Mr. Bush ran on in 2000 – energy independence, education, expanded free trade and a get-tough stance toward China, balanced budgets and small business. – Their campaign platforms similar
Fact-Check: Obama would raise taxes on the middle class by $4,000.- Romney’s claim that Obama would raise taxes on the middle class by $4,000 has been caught as a lie at least three times in the past. The figure is drawn from a dry report from the American Enterprise Institute and is unwarranted and has no evidence.
And the ZINGER of the night Fact-Check: Libya –
OBAMA: The day after last month’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, ‘‘I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime.’’
ROMNEY: ‘‘I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.’’
OBAMA: ‘‘Get the transcript.’’
THE FACTS: Obama is correct in saying that he referred to Benghazi as an act of terrorism on Sept. 12, the day after the attack. From the Rose Garden, he said: ‘‘No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. … We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act.’’
Romneys lie was so blatant and hideous that even the Moderator news journalist Candy Crowley did the near impossible and fact checked Romney from her position as moderator.
But the pièce de résistance of the evenings debate came as the candidates made their final statements and Romney himself had the nerve to claim he cared about “100 percent” of Americans.
And as if on cue Obama replied in his statement.
“I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country considered themselves victims, who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about,” the president began. “Folks on Social Security who have worked all their lives. Veterans who have sacrificed for this country. Students who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams, but also this country’s dreams. Soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now. People who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas tax, but don’t make enough income.”
President Obama was the clear winner of last nights debate and there’s little doubt that Obama won back all the undecided voters he lost two weeks ago
DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS –
Read MORE Fact Checks from last nights debate at Boston.com