Last Presidential Debate: Liveblogging

~ Clarissa

People who say this debate will be less interesting than the previous ones because it has to do with foreign policy are arrant fools. This is the most crucial debate of all. The main reason why the possibility of a Romney presidency scares me is that I believe he will start military actions against Iran. If that happens, Iran will immediately retaliate against Israel, and we all know that Israel will strike back. As important as the taxes, the economy, the abortion and the repeal of DOMA are, the possibility that we might end up on the brink of World War III trumps all that. Romney will invade somebody for sure because the Republicans always invade. And that somebody is very likely to be Iran, so I’m terrified. Aren’t you?

Another fiercely pro-Republican moderator, yip-dee-do. He immediately allows Romney to roll out his only foreign relations talking point with the attack in Libya and the resulting brouhaha about who said the word “terrorist” first. Both the attack and the brouhaha will be forgotten in two days, yet here we are discussing it like it’s the most pressing issue of the moment. Romney says we need “a strategy.” How very specific of him. Again, he repeats that we need “a strategy.”

Obama again forgets to say the word “Bush.” Does he suffer from Obamanesia?

Romney explains that his strategy is to “go after the bad guys.” That’s a very condescending way to speak to American citizens.

Romney wants to bring gender equality to the Middle East. But, as we all know, he will start by destroying gender equality at home.

Obama stuck the comment about Russia into Romney’s chest. The attack of Obamanesia is finally over.

Obama finally says that Romney wants to take us back to the  past. For the first time in this election, I love Obama.

Romney is losing his cool. “Don’t attack meeeee,” he whines.

OK, I hate Putin more than anybody in the US possibly can but he is not “Mr. Putin.” He is President Putin. A hateful president, yet a president. Elected in a landslide that neither Romney nor Obama can even begin to hope for.

The moderator is very professional but he is very obviously a passionate Republican. If that’s OK, why didn’t we see Rachel Maddow moderating one of the debates?

Obama seems to promise that the US will not be invading Syria. More than it has already, I mean.

Obama is trying to prove that he is hawkish enough to persuade the American exceptionalists of his worth. And just when I was starting to love him again.

Romney keeps being vague. “We should have taken A leadership role” he repeats. What does that even mean?

Egyptians are just like us, Obama says. I’m sure that is a novel idea to many. Of course, it would be great if the American foreign policy started recognizing the humanity of all those weird foreigners.

Just talk about Iran already!

Romney says, “We want a peaceful planet.” Coming from an American presidential candidate, that sounded very funny. Who was it who said, “Want peace? Prepare for war!” That’s what Romney just said.

If I hear one more sentence about the exceptional role of the US in the world, I will throw up.

Romney will not cut the military budget. This is the most important thing he said. I wish he repeated it. I want everybody to hear it.

“America remains one indispensable nation,” Obama says. That’s an extremely terrifying sentence. Are there any dispensable nations??? Jeez. . . These guys are trying to outdo each other in this disgusting hawkishness that scares the bejesus out of me.

Romney says he knows how to create 12 mln jobs. That’s kind of very specific. Why 12 mln and not 12 mln 500?

Romney, stay the fuck out of Latin America!!! It is NOT a huge opportunity for you any longer! Your party has destroyed Latin America time and again since 1898. You need to stop. Latin America is not your playground any longer. You can not invade again.

Do we really still need to discuss if class sizes impact the quality of education? What next? Will we discuss whether basic literacy is important for education?

The passionately Republican moderator does all he can to give more air time to Romney. He must really want that tax cut for millionaires.

Romney still can’t explain his budget ideas. But he says that he will destroy Obamacare immediately. At least, he is honest.

Obama now boasts of spending more on the military. Jeez.

Romney has so little to say that he trots out the tired old Olympics meme. How painfully boring.

Romney wants to fight two conflicts at once. I now desperately need to hear what those conflicts are. He wants to attack Iran and WHO ELSE? He’s been buzzing a lot about Latin America. Does he want Venezuelan oil?

Obama slaughters Romney with explaining to him that the number of ships compared to 1917 is not important because the technology has changed. This is the absolute core of the Republican approach: it worked a bizillion years ago, so let’s go back in time and do what our dinosaur-hunting ancestors did.

“If Israel is attacked, we will stand with it, ” Obama says. OK, what does that mean? Is he planning to declare war? What does “stand with it” mean in this context?

At least, Romney can pronounce Ahmadinejad’s name. That’s more than we ever got out of Bush.

Romney confirms he will attack Iran. “As a last resort, blah, blah.” This can end up being the very last thing we all see happen on this planet. The hypocrisy is killing me. Two representatives of the only country in the world that has unleashed a nuclear Holocaust against human beings are discussing high-handedly how they will prevent others from having nuclear weapons.

Oh, not the “apology tour” meme again. If ONLY Obama had made an apology to somebody on behalf of his country.

Obama says Romney spreads “whoppers” about him. Funny.

“America has not dictated to other nations. America has freed other nations,” Romney said. I’m beating my head against the desk in laughter. The guy is incredible. He doesn’t even begin to realize that every single dictator has used and does use these very words. The only people who can determine if they have been dictated to are those people themselves.

Yes, Pakistan is important. Which is why it should be left alone.

God, Romney wants to be “helpful” to Pakistan. God help Pakistan because we all know what that “help” means.

Why are they picking on Pakistan all of a sudden? Pakistan has put up with a lot from the US in recent year. What more could it have done?

Again, Romney speaks of “the bad guys.” I’m starting to understand why my students bug me with endless questions as to who were the bad guys in every conflict we discuss in class.

Gosh, if China played by the same rules as the US has been, as Obama suggests, we would all be embroiled in a nuclear crisis a long time ago. Whom exactly did China invade in the past few decades? Except Tibet that the US doesn’t care about, I mean.

Both candidates have agreed on everything so profoundly that they have nothing left to say and just repeat what they said before to fill up the time.

Romney blames outsourcing of the US jobs on. . . China. Jeez. Lotsa lotsa China-bashing.

Obama hits Romney with Romney’s personal contribution into outsourcing jobs to China. I wish he had some stats to offer.

Romney says, “I’m a son of Detroit.” Is he trying to be funny?

Romney addresses the moderator as Mr. President. I wonder why the moderator deserves this title while “Mr. Putin” doesn’t.

I’ve never seen anybody as rude as Romney. He would probably even outdo “Mr. Putin” in terms of extreme rudeness.

Romney says he loves teachers. The teachers are now running away screaming because we don’t want his lovin’. He loves teachers like a caterpillar loves a mushroom or like I love a sausage.

Romney says he will “continue to promote principles of peace.” What does continue mean in this context? Who has started upholding these principles that he wants to continue promoting?

Romney ends with promising to torch the country. I believe him.

I hate hawkishness, I hate American exceptionalism, so I feel desperate after this debate. Just desperate. In the USSR, I got so fed up with this propaganda of “we need to bring freedom to other nations and stuff it down people’s throats” that I can’t take it any more. You can’t bring freedom to people. It doesn’t work this way. People can only liberate themselves if that’s what they want to do. Romney, who is supposed to be for self-sufficiency, pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, against state protectionism, against forcing people to eat broccoli for their own good, that same Romney is all for freeing others instead of letting them handle their own lives. I don’t get this!

However, as much as I don’t want anybody to win this debate, Obama won it. He was more specific, he got in some good jabs. Romney was vague and kind of boring, repeating old meaningless memes. 

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Published by Clarissa

105 thoughts on “Last Presidential Debate: Liveblogging”

      1. I just keep comparing Obama’s Libya speech to Johnson’s Vietnam speech and I see absolutely no difference between those two and Romney’s plan. It scares the crap out of me.

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      2. Ha! Americans have a responsibility to the rest of the world! Right! The United States is just like every other country–it will always act in accordance with what is good for the United States. But Romney doesn’t seem to realize that war won’t help the economy this time; it hasn’t for years.

        Maybe the goal is to start a third world war? Scary thoughts. This really is the most important debate.

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      3. Neither does America. Hence the vague language that makes it sound like we’re not going to continue overseas. They need to couch it in the most comfortable terms as possible and it’s not working.

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      1. All I’m getting from it is that their foreign policies are so scary that they have to harp on domestic issues just to get people to continue to support them.

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  3. Both of them so proud about ‘crippling sanctions’ on Iran. Starving Iranian children.

    They haven’t disagreed upon a single foreign policy issue in this debate, which is why they keep bringing up teachers unions and balanced budgets.

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    1. They both dig the word “crippling.” Both are trying to outdo each other on hawkishness and I hate that.

      I believe that a country that possesses nuclear weapons absolutely cannot dictate to others whether they should have them.

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  4. I kind of want someone to mention Darfur. They’re so concerned about Israel and Iran and Libya and Syria. But if we have these “responsibilities” as the candidates claim, then why haven’t we interfered in Darfur?

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      2. I like that, I really do. I especially like the fact that the reason I never heard of this is solely because the US likes to conveniently forget things like that.

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      1. Doesn’t the whole conflict over Israel stem from the fact that it’s not just a Jewish state? I think I’ve heard them mention keeping Israel a Jewish state a couple of times. Is it just me, or are they grossly oversimplifying a complicated issue?

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  9. “Basic international standards?” What does that mean? Don’t we have a habit of treating every country slightly differently than every other country?

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  10. Um…don’t the companies Romney’s mentioning also do research? Romney seems to have a very narrow view of what constitutes research. Solar research and alternative energy think tanks don’t all happen in universities and national labs.

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  16. “When he noted that Romney has said there are fewer ships now than decades ago, Obama said that it’s because that’s the way a modern military works, with changing technology: “We also have fewer horses and bayonets … We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them.…it’s not a game of Battleship.”

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/10/obama-to-romney-this-is-not-a-game-of-battleship-139251.html

    Yes. It’s a classic.

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  17. “How many Americans care about liberty? The depressing fact that Obama may well win the election shows that vast numbers of Americans care more about panem et circenses, bread and circuses, than about liberty.”

    http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2012/10/liberty-forever.html

    Yes, Americans don’t welcome freedom from having jobs, good incomes and peace. They do, however, welcome the freedom from having the government stick its noses into their bodies, beds, and religions.

    Those freaky weaird Americans.

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  18. It’s hard to say who won. In fact, it’s a bit ridiculous to ask who won because they didn’t really disagree on anything, but in terms of who got-in the best lines, I’m tempted to say Obama.

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  24. Doesn’t matter if Obama won the debate. Romney still has the election in the bag. Bain Capital, Solaris – the Romney trust and his friends own the companies that own the companies that make the new electronic touch screen voting machines and have directors on their boards which are one hundred percent right wing. The machines that were bought with the 4.3 billion dollars which Bush gave to the states to modernise voting after the chad Florida election fiasco in 2000. The ones that have no paper trail so there’s no way to prove the election will be stolen. The only manner in which it could be proven is a discrepancy between the official count and the exit polls and for the first time in five election cycles it has been decided by the corporate owned media consortium that conducts all exit polls to not have exit polls in nineteen states in order to “save money”. The fix is in. If you don’t believe me then google “electoral redshift.” Putin would be proud.

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              1. What browser(s)? This is getting interesting. Unapologetic Mexican’s site was indeed hacked and I am getting the malware notice on my site even though I delinked from him. There must be traces of him in here — he also created the writing on my header. I will have to see what else I can scrub!

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      1. “welcome to America, the grantor of world wide democracy!”

        – I want to hit myself over the head every time a student says, “But aren’t we supposed to bring democracy to the rest of the world?”

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        1. sure; but wait: different language same result!
          Just read Noriega’s story earlier; do you think the French would have pushed so hard to get their hands on him if he hadn’t stashed away a few millions in France?
          Its all business baby!

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  25. Pingback: Last Presidential Debate: Liveblogging « Clarissa's Blog | American Political Blogs Watch

  26. I feel truly desperate thinking on the consequences of our faint memories. Americans tend to forget very easily and going back to the Bush era is just so unbereable! I hope it doesn’t happen!

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  27. Thank you for posting this Clarissa. We outside the USA are very nervous of Romney – to put it mildly.
    Re other American states, has anybody in the US ever heard of Chilean President Allende who was deposed by the unelected but obviously demcracy loving CIA even though Allende was democratically elected?
    Oh, I just remembered, Allende was a communist, so that made it ok, right? I get it, sorry.
    For nervous, above, read horrified.

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      1. ..or brain washed; in my experience most Americans have not even a clue what Communism actually is. might be an interesting exercise to ask your students..

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        1. Oh, but I have. This is when I discovered that Communism is “the same as fascism.” My students were shocked to discover that Communism and fascism are located on the opposing sides of the political spectrum. They were also shocked to discover that Communists and fascists were not allies but, rather, fought against each other in Spanish Civil war and WWII.

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      2. I wonder how many Americans know that Picasso, who painted the much applauded ‘Guernica’ as a protest against fascism, was a communist.

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  28. “He loves teachers like a caterpillar loves a mushroom or like I love a sausage.” This made me lol. Classroom size is so fundamentally important that Romney’s stupidity concerning it makes me hate him.

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      1. thanks to whoever shared this video,
        this should be required reading/listening to every student, heck everybody else, because students should already know this!

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  30. “Elected in a landslide that neither Romney nor Obama can even begin to hope for.”

    Elected by fixed elections. There’s no democracy in Russia.

    But Repubenrons and Mediocrats buy elections term after term…

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  31. “Elected in a landslide that neither Romney nor Obama can even begin to hope for.”

    Elected by fixing elections. There’s no democracy in Russia.

    But Repubenrons and Mediocrats buy elections terme after term….

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    1. As somebody who follows the events in Russia closely, I repeat: Putin won by a big majority. His support within the country is of the kind Obama could never hope for, unfortunately. I hate Putin but he won the elections fairly. There was no other candidate who could even begin to touch him.

      I find it strange that people would want to educate me, of all people, about Russia.

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      2. Fairly, are you kidding me? What about all the violence, the preventive arrestations, and the intimidation of opposition politicians by the former-KGBian police?

        Don’t confound the Perestroïka Dream with the actual chinese-like pseudo-communist-corpo-fascism currently in function with the Medvedev-Putin biumvirat!

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        1. ” What about all the violence, the preventive arrestations, and the intimidation of opposition politicians by the former-KGBian police?”

          – Putin wanted to win by 65% and not the 58% he would have gotten without any falsifications. But there was never any doubt that he would win in anybody’s mind. Unfortunately, there is no alternative leader. Not a single one. People who ran “against” him are all Kremlin puppets created and financed to ensure that the election looks decent.

          ‘the actual chinese-like pseudo-communist-corpo-fascism currently in function with the Medvedev-Putin biumvirat!”

          – That’s exactly what it is. You gave the perfect definition. But what we need to remember is this is precisely what the people of Russia want right now. It is their country, so they are entitled to have what they want.

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      3. preventive arrests

        It’s easy for a party to win by majority when this same party eliminates all the meaningful opposition by violence and by his own legislation. What kind of democracy is that?

        Like it’s easy for two parties to be the only ones possible in USA when you buy elections with super PACS and unilimited corporate spending!

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        1. “It’s easy for a party to win by majority when this same party eliminates all the meaningful opposition by violence and by his own legislation. What kind of democracy is that?”

          – Of course, you are right. I’m not claiming there is democracy in Russia. I’m saying that the people overwhelmingly support Putin and want him as their president.

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  32. So, being that you are Ukranian, you are the resident authority on all things Russian, like the Canadian is on America. 😉

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    1. I don’t think that we need to debate whether I follow the news from Russia more closely than any other person on this blog, except maybe reader V. I’m the only Russian-speaker around here and also the only person who follows Russian-language blogs, reads the Russian press, listens to the Russian radio, and watches the Russian television daily. Seriously, what are we arguing about, exactly?

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