Anisee Alves

Prof. Suissa
October 16
th
, 2012
Presidential Debate #2
In tonights debate between President Obama and Governor Romney, I believe our
president had a lot more confidence and it showed as he asserted himself , and took the
leadership role . The tactics that Romney were using before didnt seem to work tonight as
Obama checked his facts and showed himself to be the bigger person as he ignored Romneys
want to argue and tried his best to answer the questions of the voters , mainly because that was
what tonight was about , the people. The town hall style debate took place in the arts center of
Hofstra University and the candidates were required to answer questions directly from the people
themselves. In the last debate, many voters were discouraged by President Obamas
performance as he seemed to have a more laid back and, what some say, nonchalant approach
regarding many issues. However, in tonights debate the president beat Romney at his own
game. A political critic stated that this debate was Romney VS. Romney, and theyd never
seen President Obama so fired up. What many fail to realize is that our president is a very sincere
and relatable person, due to his upbringing, which makes him more favorable than a candidate
who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and billions of dollars in his pocket. His ability to
relate to the voters and to speak to them sincerely is what allows the president to do well in town
hall debates.
Governor Romney on the other hand, was taken aback by the presidents performance
because of his assumption that he could rudely interrupt the presidents responses, cut the
moderator off when he pleased , and most popularly, blatantly lie about important issues. One of
the high points and faults of Governor Romneys performance was his disregard for the facts
surrounding the terrorist attacks in Bengazi. Romney stated that instead of immediately
announcing the severity of the issue the president took two weeks , which was in fact , false. The
moderator , Candy Crowley, did a great job of fact checking Romney as he tried to create doubt
in the voters minds that their president could possibly care more about his re- election than their
safety. After the comment , President Obama stated his offence taken by Romneys statements,
and Romneys press release while the issue was being dealt with . As a presidential candidate,
one would think that actual issues weigh more than politics.
Something highly spoken about over tonights debate was the event of both candidates
not answering the questions fully. In my opinion, though he may have gotten off topic in the
beginning President Obama always came down to answering the questions. Romney, on the
other hand, focused more on commenting on past questions and arguing with the president than
being efficient in his responses. Also, when Romney was given a chance to prove himself as a
man and candidate, he didnt as he took that chance to continue to ramble. After Obamas
remarkable last response, and the debate was over , a tense Romney was seen for about five
minutes and then disappeared as many of the cameras focused on the president. This was a
successful night for the President.