US Town Hall Debate |OT| When is the election? What are the names of the candidates?

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demosthenes said:
When Romney says he will create jobs he believes he will create jobs by slashing taxes. Once taxes are slashed, people will hire more employees.
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I don't even know what to think anymore. I can foresee companies just enjoying their increased profits and still not hiring.

People like to say that the rich people are the job creators but there was a study suggestion that rich people have been hoarding more and more lately.
 
Finally done. This probably could have been made into 4-5 different articles. The editor gets what she wants though.

Security and excitement were on high alert Tuesday night at Hofstra University as Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney converged onto the campus to intensely debate a plethora of topics for the second time in just a few weeks.

On multiple occasions Romney and Obama broke free from the perceived notion that a town-hall style debate is friendlier, and directly attacked the other candidate. The attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the county’s economic situation brought out the most fire from each contender and both were adamant at getting their point across by interrupting one another and pleading for more time from debate moderator and CNN reporter Candy Crowley.

The debate began with the most relatable issue for young voters: unemployment among college graduates. Governor Romney explained that he’d like to continue the growth of the Pell grant program and make higher education more affordable. President Obama laid out a plan that would focus on creating and saving jobs in manufacturing, changing the tax code, and giving tax incentives to companies that hire Americans.

Not satisfied with either candidate’s answer, Crowley refocused the question on how each of them would help the 40% of unemployed that have been without a job for more than six months.

Romney attacked the Obama Administration’s handling of General Motors and Chrysler and stated that his five-point plan can create twelve million jobs for Americans. The President retorted that Romney’s five-point plan boils down to a one point plan that would ensure “folks at the top play by a different set of rules.” Throughout the rest of the debate, both candidates used the twelve questions given by undecided voters as launching pads to attack the other candidate’s missteps and policies.

When asked about the attack on the US Consulate in Libya which killed four United States servicemen, including a US ambassador to Libya, President Obama took full responsibility. The president explained that they are still investigating what happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 and that immediately after the attack he commanded his assistants to “…beef up security and procedures, [and] not just in Libya, but at every consulate and embassy around the world.”

The president went on to ridicule the Romney campaign’s decision to use the terrorist attack as a political talking point.

Governor Romney explained that the attack on the consulate was just another example of failed foreign policy by the Obama administration and criticized the press release by the White House in the days after the incident which explained that the attack was a “spontaneous demonstration”, not an “act of terror”.

“And there was no demonstration involved. It was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people. Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn’t know what happened, you have to ask yourself why didn’t we know five days later…” Said Romney.

However, moderator Crowley explained that in fact the President used the phrase, “act of terror” in the speech at the White House Rose Garden days after the attack.

Obama went on to state that the White House did not mislead the public. “And the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the Secretary of State, our U.N. Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we’ve lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That’s not what we do. That’s not what I do as president, that’s not what I do as Commander in Chief.” Stated the president.

Outside the David S. Mack Sports Complex prior to the debate, there was a more relaxed atmosphere. Many students took advantage of Hofstra’s second consecutive foray in the Presidential debate to bring awareness to real as well as comedic issues.
Certain students were seen holding up signs protesting hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in upstate New York, and the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of Super PACs. Other students brought awareness to the gay marriage debate and gender pay equality. Even a documentary filmmaker stopped by the media-packed campus to film students’ opinions towards the way presidential campaigns are run and what they want out of a president.

Sarcastic undergrads protested passionately, by making out for over an hour simply for “peace.” While others held signs stating “Romney doesn’t believe in gravity”, “KONY 2012”, and “Ron Paul is a Pokémon.” Even The Rent is Too Goddamn High Party perennial candidate James McMillan was there to explain, that the rent is too goddamn high.
Radio engineer for Hofstra’s campus radio station WRHU, Joe Hutter, commented that the atmosphere “resembled a circus.”

However the air of enthusiasm and irony that overtook the campus for the day quickly eroded as the debate approached. Students and faculty, media, and members of the Hempstead community who were not lucky enough to watch the debate inside Hofstra’s basketball arena took shelter inside the many viewing parties dotted around the campus.

A seminar was held at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse before the viewing party and debate; which covered a multitude of topics including the effects of social media on debate viewers, how different broadcast outlets affect the perceptions of each candidate, and what a viewer should look for during the debate.

Many members of the audience felt Indiana University Communications chair and NPR contributor, Dr. Mary Kahl’s advice on how to watch the debate was very helpful.

“Whenever I watch a debate I find myself looking at my phone or tuning out. [Dr. Kahl’s] tips really helped me stay focused. I was picking things up I never noticed before”, said Adrian Hakkert, a Dutch exchange student.

With new-found knowledge and a free cup of tea provided by MSNBC, excited observers quickly ran back to their seats after a brief intermission between the seminar and viewing party. As if it were New Year’s Eve, the audience began counting down the final seconds before the debate and rang it in with a thunderous applause. Throughout the debate, both sides of the political aisle could be heard cheering for support as each candidate took shots at the other.

“I am jealous of the people that got [into the Mack Sports Complex], but I think we had a better time here”, said Samantha Teano, a single mother of two. “I knew who I was going to vote for before the debate, and this really helped me feel confident about my decision.”

Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz was delighted to host the Presidential Debate for a second consecutive time an hoped to host a third consecutive presidential debate in 2016 in a speech given minutes before the debate.

The final presidential debate of the 2012 campaign will be on Monday, October 22, at 9PM at Lynne University in Boca Raton, Florida. The debate will mainly focus on foreign policy.
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CrankyJay said:
Probably...that's why this is so funny to me. Democrats will move the money over here, and Republicans will move the money over there. From a financial standpoint you pick and choose where you want it to go, we're screwed either way. That's why I don't blame people for voting for social issues at all.

I'm really surprised Romney isn't focusing more on that. He needs to motivate his base, but he's pandering for votes from people split either way. Bush got enough people from his base with the "family values" quip.
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Most of the country is war weary, so I suspect that is the reason he isn't pandering to the military more. A have a lot of family and friends in the military and most of them are voting for Romney because they believe that he will roll back the scheduled cuts to their budget and increase spending. They don't understand that they're hurting the rest of the country. They just see the cuts as proof that Obama is not pro-military. When I try to paint them the picture that the military prevents the government from spending more on services (or not for a smaller tax rate) that help a greater portion of the country (i.e. healthcare) they almost immediately stop listening. They are afraid of facing the fact that our military is far too big and needs to be downsized for the greater good of the country.
 
LegendofJoe said:
Most of the country is war weary, so I suspect that is the reason he isn't pandering to the military more. A have a lot of family and friends in the military and most of them are voting for Romney because they believe that he will roll back the scheduled cuts to their budget and increase spending. They don't understand that they're hurting the rest of the country. They just see the cuts as proof that Obama is not pro-military. When I try to paint them the picture that the military prevents the government from spending more on services (or not for a smaller tax rate) that help a greater portion of the country (i.e. healthcare) they almost immediately stop listening. They are afraid of facing the fact that our military is far too big and needs to be downsized for the greater good of the country.
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Well it is their paycheck. If there was ever a legitimate issue to vote on it would be to save your job and way of life.
 
Miletius said:
Well it is their paycheck. If there was ever a legitimate issue to vote on it would be to save your job and way of life.
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I agree, I don't blame them for it because it's logical. It would be amazing if more people voted based on what's better for the country as a whole, but that is expecting too much.
 
Well I just watched the debate and Romney sounds like an ahole who knows nothing and just bullshits around. I really hope americans vote Obama.
 
CrankyJay said:
I don't even know what to think anymore. I can foresee companies just enjoying their increased profits and still not hiring.

People like to say that the rich people are the job creators but there was a study suggestion that rich people have been hoarding more and more lately.
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It's a recession, nobody is gonna spend that money on employees. They are gonna save it. This is shown time and time again.
 
I posted this in the other thread, but romney sounds like he's constantly saying: "NO YOU!" and just keeps repeating what obama said but in the negative 'No i did not say blblalalbal'. He's so full of shit.
 
LegendofJoe said:
Most of the country is war weary, so I suspect that is the reason he isn't pandering to the military more. A have a lot of family and friends in the military and most of them are voting for Romney because they believe that he will roll back the scheduled cuts to their budget and increase spending. They don't understand that they're hurting the rest of the country. They just see the cuts as proof that Obama is not pro-military. When I try to paint them the picture that the military prevents the government from spending more on services (or not for a smaller tax rate) that help a greater portion of the country (i.e. healthcare) they almost immediately stop listening. They are afraid of facing the fact that our military is far too big and needs to be downsized for the greater good of the country.
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not to mention that Obama is doing more for returning veterans than any president in recent memory let alone Bushies who used to repeat "the troops, the troops" but didnt give a shit when they got out.
Obama is focused on better benefits, healthcare for military and finding jobs and higher education.

We need leaner faster military, not bloated submarine fleet and tanks sitting idle on baseds around the world rotting out. Which is where those rollbacks are taking from. The Pentagon were the ones that suggested the budget as a way to redefine the military for the 21st century and get out of that cold war mentality where Mitt thinks Russia is still our greatest threat.
 
Slime said:
Oh, sweet Jesus.
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I love this clip, lol.

Not to go along with all the Romney bashing, there were things that I didn't like about both candidates. They needed to respect each other more, stay within their time limit, give more clear, concise answers to the questions they were dealth, and get through as many questions as possible. There were 22 questions, they only got through what? 6-7 of them?
 
mackattk said:
I love this clip, lol.

Not to go along with all the Romney bashing, there were things that I didn't like about both candidates. They needed to respect each other more, stay within their time limit, give more clear, concise answers to the questions they were dealth, and get through as many questions as possible. There were 22 questions, they only got through what? 6-7 of them?
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This is probably the worst year ever for actually following the debate rules. And on both sides they're mostly intentional fouls.
 
mackattk said:
Not to go along with all the Romney bashing, there were things that I didn't like about both candidates. They needed to respect each other more, stay within their time limit, give more clear, concise answers to the questions they were dealth, and get through as many questions as possible. There were 22 questions, they only got through what? 6-7 of them?
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Yeah, more questions would have been nice, but at the same time it was nice to see a little fire in their bellies.
 
pigeon said:
This is probably the worst year ever for actually following the debate rules. And on both sides they're mostly intentional fouls.
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one of the few debate rules agreed to by both campaigns was that neither candidate would address the other directly. Romney walked in on Obama from the beginning directly picking a fight because, you know, rules dont apply to Mitt. But he got Commandered and Chiefed back to his little perch.
 
PhoenixDark said:
Another surprising thing IMO was how good Obama was even when off script. He had a few Clinton-esque quick responses/jokes that got the crowd to laugh (especially on Romney's pension being bigger). I honestly didn't believe Obama was capable of that
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Agreed. Maybe it's partly due to the expectations game, but I've always said that I don't find Obama all that great in off-script public talk. Very hesitant, with lots of "ehs", and often rambly. Tonight however he was to the point, without hesitation, and had some decent ad-hoc clever moments.
 
Listening to NPR and they interviewed 2 speech writers. One from each side.

Somehow the consensus is that Obama is strong on Foreign policy.

And Romney is strong on the Economy.

How is Romney strong on the economy?
 
Lord-Audie said:
Listening to NPR and they interviewed 2 speech writers. One from each side.

Somehow the consensus is that Obama is strong on Foreign policy.

And Romney is strong on the Economy.

How is Romney strong on the economy?
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Maybe they mean Romney has an electoral advantage when it comes to the economy?

I agree that his policies are weak and devoid of detail, but let's be honest--Obama has been vague about his policies beyond raising taxes on the wealthy.
 
Lord-Audie said:
Listening to NPR and they interviewed 2 speech writers. One from each side.

Somehow the consensus is that Obama is strong on Foreign policy.

And Romney is strong on the Economy.

How is Romney strong on the economy?
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I would assume because he speaks from a place of experience in business, which is chiefly concerned with economic efficiency. Whether or not his ideas are actually good ones, I would surmise he's probably seen as more knowledgeable on this particular subject. He didn't get that rich by making unprofitable business decisions.
 
Romney has a 5-point plan. Obama actually has four years of a tepid recovery. That will be construed as strength for Romney in the minds of many voters. "Well, Obama did have a chance to use his policies..."
 
Byakuya769 said:
Romney has a 5-point plan. Obama actually has four years of a tepid recovery. That will be construed as strength for Romney in the minds of many voters. "Well, Obama did have a chance to use his policies..."
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Pretty much this. It's a lot easier to make Obama look bad because he's had time where he was expected to make something happen, even if outside circumstances make it nearly impossible to affect any kind of rapid change. So Romney can do what any candidate does: make sunny promises before election which he doesn't even have to think about delivering on until the next round.
 
At least "Big Bird" had some policy ideas behind it. The "binder" is just... I feel like last night was a bust all around and will probably be the least remembered out of the 3 debates.
 
JeTmAn81 said:
Pretty much this. It's a lot easier to make Obama look bad because he's had time where he was expected to make something happen, even if outside circumstances make it nearly impossible to affect any kind of rapid change. So Romney can do what any candidate does: make sunny promises before election which he doesn't even have to think about delivering on until the next round.
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And yet, he'll most likely still lose. It's a testament to how poor of a candidate he is.
 
JeTmAn81 said:
I would assume because he speaks from a place of experience in business, which is chiefly concerned with economic efficiency. Whether or not his ideas are actually good ones, I would surmise he's probably seen as more knowledgeable on this particular subject. He didn't get that rich by making unprofitable business decisions.
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But how do people not understand that the business descisions he has experience with are actually things that are used not for the benefit of the general economy but more likely to the benefit of a very small select group of people at the top.

That is like saying if there was one kid REALLY good at cheating in math class, that it would be a good idea for him to teach the class.
 
I'm still upset that Biden didn't call out Ryan on his 5-6 "Studies" that prove his tax plan is sound when the softball was thrown at him.

In this one Romney was smart not to use it.
 
Byakuya769 said:
Romney has a 5-point plan. Obama actually has four years of a tepid recovery. That will be construed as strength for Romney in the minds of many voters. "Well, Obama did have a chance to use his policies..."
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I think much of the general public won't be able to comprehend that it has been hard for Obama to pass anything because of the congress. He could have gotten a lot of things done if congress wasn't blocking him in his every move.
 
mackattk said:
I think much of the general public won't be able to comprehend that it has been hard for Obama to pass anything because of the congress. He could have gotten a lot of things done if congress wasn't blocking him in his every move.
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I dunno. There was a survey last year that said that something like 60% of Americans believed Republicans were deliberately obstructing the recovery for political gain. I mean, maybe some of them forgot it, but I think this is a big part of why Republicans, at least down-ticket, are suffering in the polls -- and why Obama's approval rating has been so different from his personal favorability and his horserace numbers. For the first time, someone may be about to lose money underestimating the American people.
 
mackattk said:
I think much of the general public won't be able to comprehend that it has been hard for Obama to pass anything because of the congress. He could have gotten a lot of things done if congress wasn't blocking him in his every move.
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Playing Devil's advocate here. Let's assume this is true. Electing Obama would just be 4 more years of government deadlock. Unless the Democrats somehow recaptures the House, would the economy be better with 4 years of republican policies or 4 years of government inaction?
 
Goldrush said:
Playing Devil's advocate here. Let's assume this is true. Electing Obama would just be 4 more years of government deadlock. Unless the Democrats somehow recaptures the House, would the economy be better with 4 years of republican policies or 4 years of government inaction?
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Or ... how about Republicans actually work with Democrats to get shit done? Holding the country hostage because you believe Jesus rode dinosaurs does not make a great nation.
 
I just read this headline on Yahoo:

"Obama wins the second debate. Too bad it’s not the one that mattered."

The article is saying how the first debate is the only one that matters and Obama will lose the election because he lost the first debate, and it doesn't matter if he destroys Romney in the second or third debates.

Da fuq? I understand that more people probably watched the first debate more than the second, but this isn't 20 years ago. We have social media now, where momentum is more often than not effected by that rather than how many people watched the debate.
 
The Mana Legend said:
I just read this headline on Yahoo:

"Obama wins the second debate. Too bad it’s not the one that mattered."

The article is saying how the first debate is the only one that matters and Obama will lose the election because he lost the first debate, and it doesn't matter if he destroys Romney in the second or third debates.

Da fuq? I understand that more people probably watched the first debate more than the second, but this isn't 20 years ago. We have social media now, where momentum is more often than not effected by that rather than how many people watched the debate.
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Obama is finished and he knows it. He even spoke of his days as President in the past tense.
"when I was President..."
 
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