In Last Debate, Challenger Faces Incumbent on Foreign Policy

President Obama and Mitt Romney face-off in last showdown.

Last night’s exchange between Governor Romney and President Obama wasn't so much of a debate as much as it was a discussion. Governor Romney often found himself walking on egg shells trying not to take the President’s bait and coming across as ill-tempered. It was a tough debate for Mr. Romney—he could have gone about it in two ways. He could have disagreed with the President’s policies on every issue and then explain how he’d go about them differently. Given the President’s handling of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab Spring and Iran, that could come across as Romney wanting to prolong the wars or start new ones, which would not have been wise. Governor Romney chose to move to the center by often “concurring” with the President’s handling of foreign policy with the exception of perhaps China.

When the moderator, Bob Schieffer, asked the candidates on the relationship with Pakistan, Governor Romney said, “I don’t blame the administration for the strained relationship with Pakistan, we had to go in there to get Bin Laden; it was the right thing to do.”

On a timeline for Afghanistan, Governor Romney agreed on a 2014 deadline, and even admitted that “the surge worked,” which was surprising. On drones Governor Romney said, “I support that entirely and believe the President is right,” in substantially increasing strikes when compared to George W. Bush.

When in disagreement, Governor Romney often seemed to attack the President much more from the left than from the right—by implying that we should better direct our foreign aid and hinting at the fact that the administration is not doing enough to help women and the poor in the Middle East. Surprisingly, Mr. Romney chose not to go after the President on the attack on the compound in Benghazi in early September; which might have been a missed opportunity.

Both candidates often pivoted to domestic issues when they saw it to their advantage. “I don’t see our influence growing around the world. I see our influence receding, in part because of the failure of the president to deal with our economic challenges at home.” At times, Mr. Romney had to defend himself from President Obama’s ability to drive the narrative over the 90 minutes. On the last question of the night, President Obama diverted to education investments in the U.S. and how Governor Romney has expressed reluctance in hiring more teachers. Mr. Romney countered by saying “I love teachers,” which might have been seen as a desperate effort to explain himself. The moderator, Bob Schieffer then cut him off, “I think we all love teachers,” and then carried to closing statements.

Both candidates assured us of the importance of Ohio. President Obama attacked Mitt Romney on his position on the auto bailout. “If we had listened to you, Governor, we’d be buying cars from China rather than selling cars to China.” Hoping to clarify his position for once and for all and to regain some ground in the Buckeye State, Mr. Romney replied with “I am a son of Detroit. I was born in Detroit. My dad was head of a car company. I like American cars. And I would do nothing to hurt the U.S. auto industry.”

The President’s most successful moments were those when he managed to create an emotional connection with the American people while at the same time defending his positions from Mr. Romney’s allegations. Governor Romney accused the President of apologizing for American values on a tour he took to the Middle East and skipping a visit to Israel. “If we’re going to talk about trips that we've taken,” the President said in a cautious tone, “when I went to Israel as a candidate, I didn't take donors. I didn't attend fund-raisers. I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum there to remind myself of the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel would be unbreakable.” The President also took advantage of Governor Romney’s stance that “we shouldn't move heaven and earth to get one man,” on prosecuting Bin Laden. “It was worth moving heaven and earth to get him,” said the President before narrating a conversation he had with the daughter of a 9/11 victim who last spoke to her father on the phone from one of the twin towers.

Mitt Romney’s supporters won’t voice themselves too loudly. After all Mr. Romney did what was necessary—he didn't have a major gaffe, he played it safe, did no harm, and had a productive discussion with the President about foreign policy. However, President Obama, although he sometimes came across as snarky, drove the narrative and was in control of the issues. He clearly won the debate on both style and substance by touting his administrations accomplishments on withdrawing from Iraq, the Bin Laden raid, plans for Afghanistan and U.N. sanctions on Iran and by slamming Mitt Romney as a “wrong and reckless” candidate who’s been all over the map on definitive issues of the world stage.  He also managed to do something that up until now had been a weakness for him. Even though Mr. Romney went last, President Obama’s closing statement was strong and well versed—and directed right at the voter who might have been swayed by his tone, temperament and presidential demeanor.

                        CNN Post-Debate Poll: Who Won The Debate?

Post-debate polls gave the edge to President Obama—although it’s still unclear whether the debate will have an impact on polls throughout the country. When asked who won the debate in a CBS post-debate poll, President Obama had a 30 point lead, 53% to 23%. In a CNN scientific poll, 48% of debate watchers thought President Obama won and 40% though the victory went to Mr. Romney. On leadership, Obama had a narrow victory of 51% to 46% for Mr. Romney. When debate watchers were asked on whether each candidate had what it takes to be commander-in-chief 63% reported positively for Obama and 60% for Mitt Romney; showing that the challenger did what was necessary to pass the commander-in-chief test. With 14 days to go until election day, and such a close race, it will be interesting what these numbers will mean to battleground states like Ohio, Virginia, Iowa  and Nevada.