Romney flip flopped again. He has been criticizing Obama for setting a "date certain" in 2014 for a withdraw from Afghanistan but tonight he said he was all in on a 2014 "date certain" withdrawal. I know politicians have a knack for saying what people want to hear, but, I've never seen such a severe case than I've seen in Romney. I simply don't trust that guy.

The President looked more like the Commander in Chief but that's not surprising. He's spent 4 years in NSC meetings discussing these issues while Romney hasn't. It definitely showed.

Murphy-Solon-Paid- Obama-Activist,
"I know politicians have a knack for saying what people want to hear, but, I've never seen such a severe case than I've seen in Romney. I simply don't trust that guy."
I Don't Trust You.

I thought a great debate. Both candidates had time to discuss and the crowd behaved with no interruptions.

Both spun a bit on a variety of matters.

In any event, I think the economy is the biggest issue for voters. Impacts both domestic and international policies. It's the "new normal" so we need to close the debt gaps with tax reform (simplify) and short term and long term spending reforms. If we don't have a strong economy, difficult to get much else done.

Can't wait until Nov. 6th. My gut tells me Obama will remain in office. We'll see....

my favorite line from obama ......We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them ...but what he failed to mention is that we have gone from 15 carriers down to 10 including the USS Enterprise which will be deactivated on december 1st

I wonder when the last time was that our navy engaged terrorists on the high seas?

I hope murphy is paid because he spends all of his/her time here praising obummer.

Right about now, Gov. Romney is wishing he had a do-over.

Why don't you speak to the issue I raised Betsy instead of posting nonsense. Hasn't Romney been criticizing Obama for setting a 2014 withdrawal date from Afghanistan? Didn't Romney argue that setting a specific date would tip off our enemies? Didn't he do a complete 180 tonight when he said he'd pull the troops out in 2014 period? Speak to the issue Betsy !!!

You're right Steve Rosen. Romney is proposing increasing military spending on battleships at a time when our enemies are hiding out in sand dunes...brilliant

Thank You Romney for Endorsing the President about 5 times on what he is already doing.
Obama managed to catch him on his numerous flip-flops and I was happy to see Obama had to point out we no longer fight wars with horses and swords. LOL

Romney sounded more like Obama's running mate than his opponent in the number of times he agreed with the president's current policy. Meanwhile, I have noticed that Romney's debate strategy is to keep interrupting and talking non-stop in order to avert any intelligent discourse. I simply cannot envision this guy having meaningful discussions with other heads of state.

Bob Schieffer said it all last night "Obama Bin Laden" Oh and Sandy it was ok for Obummer to do the same in the 2nd debate" have noticed that Romney's debate strategy is to keep interrupting and talking non-stop in order to avert any intelligent discourse."Where was your complaint on Obummer for this?

Who on earth would put faith in a man named Mitt? Come one people wake up he is a sleazy well made businessman not a president to be. I keep thinking he is gonna show up on my front porch trying to sell me a vacuum cleaner or hair ointment... Without a horse race ratings would be to low, game over Barack won.....

No doubt after last nights betrayal of the Republicans. Obama 2012.

Seeing the debate, it appeared the President acted like the challenger. He knows there is change in the wind.

This debate showed what many of have contended all along... voting for the "2 major" party candidates is like voting for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. And as I have said Obama is Bush on steriods, spending hard earned dollars and our treat our labors as his own and spend it on worthless endeavors.... just as Bush did.

The greatest threat to the US? Obvioulsy the ever growing National Debt, but the Fed has this issue well in hand... just keep printing more money. When are broke, is the day our enemies (whomever they may be) will party in the streets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/how-dangerous-is-the-united-states-national-debt-jkrb79glTuSblS_52JRRRA.html

In addition the officially stated unemployment rate is that hair ointment mentioned by Gina. In 1994 the BLS began using new norms for stating unemployment. While the official rate is under 8% the real rate is actually over 22%, and if we don't believe this just take notice of some of our neighbors in Shaker and many of those to the west of Shaker. Also take notice of the huge increase in the use of Food Stamps (which in fact the US government encourages.... keeps the government fiefdoms ever growing)

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts

Gina J. I believe it is Barrack who has sold us the vacuum cleaner (that doesn't pick up dirt and the hair ointment tha makes us bald!

2 parties indeed.... what a bunch of horse hokey!

Last night was fine, but it still will come down, as it always does, to the wallet and economy and this economy is terrible. Romney will win by a margin that will shock the pundits.

At least Mitt Romney is not making false promises as Obama always seems to do. We need a leader for the next 4 years and Obama isn't it!

Mr.Romney came off like a moderate lastnight..he agreed wit our president on just about every issue..republican gotta be going nuts this morning..ooo..welllll..keep fighting Mr.President

I disagree David. Romney has to have Ohio. He hasn't been able to come closer than 5 points of Obama. I believe his backtracking last night on the auto bailout as well as Afghanistan will result in Ohio slipping out of Romney's reach.

Look at all these wannabe republicans! You guys don't have MittMoney.

Look..you can't clean up a 12YR mess in 4yrs..and to be honest..our president has done almost everything he could..and look at the House he's tryin to working with they signed a plege for Pete's sake..I never saw a House wanting a President to fail

Everyone on here has chosen their candidate as have I. I have a life and don't need to argue with someone (murphy solon) endlessly about this election. Now just come clean, are you paid for this or do you just not have anything better to do?

I'm an Independent who voted McCain in the lat election Betsy. I thank you for suggesting that my posts are worthy of compensation. Lastly, if you don't wish to debate, your choice is relatively simple.............leave.

Obama is good with words, but has zero leadership skills. Romney speaks intelligently and has a life record demonstrating leadership skills. To be strong abroad, we must be strong at home. "It's the economy, stupid". Let's "change horses mid-stream" and get the job done.

I'm not voting for either of the "top two" but Romney looked very disturbed last night. Something was off for him with his facial expressions and his body language. He seemed to ramble with details, details- but they didnt all come together. It seemed like Romney had a world of worry on his mind. I think that debate is gonna cost him.

Prez Obama seemed very relaxed and comfortable. Too comfortable.

That's interesting, I don't remember Romney referring to the commanders last night when he said we would be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. That date was set by the President and not the commanders.

Even Romney admits that his plan will take 8 to 10 years to see results. I don't think any president can fix the economy in 4 years. So if Romney becomes president, and the economy isn't better in 4 years, we will elect someone else. Romney's plan will stop and a new one put into place. The same is true for Obama's plan.

For those of us that don’t know much about Romney, it is very informative that those people that do know him well – the residents of Massachusetts and the leaders of the Mormon led state of Utah -- both are expected to overwhelmingly favor Obama.

Most Massachusetts Residents Support Obama
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/massachusetts/election_2012_massachusetts_president

The largest daily newspaper in Mormon Church led-Utah, the Salt Lake City Tribune, has endorsed Obama:(The paper commented that there are too many different "Mitts,")
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/55019844-82/romnehttp://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/55019844-82/romney-obama-state-president.html.cspy-obama-state-president.html.csp

Seems wise to follow their lead, if I dare say.

Now let's set the record...our president..has and will continue to fight for the working people in our great states..Romney is only concerned about the higher ups..and that's what Romney is about..please people get out of the bubble

ROMNEY: "I know he keeps saying, `You want to take Detroit bankrupt.' Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. And I think it's important to know that that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet, so they could start hiring more people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what happened."

THE FACTS: What Romney recommended did not happen, and his proposed path probably would have forced General Motors and Chrysler out of business. He opposed using government money to bail out the automakers, instead favoring privately financed bankruptcy restructuring. But the automakers were bleeding cash and were poor credit risks. The banking system was in crisis. So private loans weren't available. Without government aid, both companies probably would have gone under and their assets would have been sold in pieces.

the only numbers that are relavent are the growing numbers of our national debt. 16 trillion and counting. 10 trillion to 16 trillion...all since he has gotten into office. can't blame bush for that.

Bush is STILL to blame for the growing national debt. You can't erase 8 years of bad financial policies in 4 years. If the money wasn't spent the economy would be 10x worse than it is now. Corporate earnings are up-unemployment is going down. Tired of hearing people like Romney. Just say your a Republican and vote that way. You'd laugh at him if he was running as a Democrat. Just admit what you are. It's better than tricking yourself into thinking Romney is a viable candidate!! The real mess will be if he wins...

Every poll shows that Obama won handily. Here is an interesting article about how Ohio played a part in last night's debate:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-bradley/obama-wins-foreign-policy_b_2005584.html

Personally, I am not sure if Obama did a better job at getting his own positions out or if Romney did a better job of agreeing with Obama's positions. At points it felt like this debate was Romney saying; "Here, just have it, I don't even want to run anymore. My wife hates this and my sons are unravelling."

hey watts why dont you worry about naples florida

The war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the Bush tax cuts, the Great Recession. All of these can be laid on Bush and all contributed mightily to that 6 Trillion figure

I have paid attention to the three debates. I have not been sure how to vote, being a single mother. Yesterday sealed the deal for me. I will try Romney. I voted for the President four years ago. I believed in hope and change. No more. Yesterday Romney appeared presidential. The President looked angry, and like he did not want to be there.
God Bless you Governor Romney. My family needs Hope and Change.

Jane

The point that everyone seems to be missing about saving the auto industry is this: Had the automakers gone through a normal bankruptcy, then their suppliers and unions, who benefited mightily from their mismanagement, would have gotten to help pick up the cost, rather than dumping it all on the U.S. taxpayer. The car companies would not have gone out of business, but they would have been restructured, presumably under better management. President Obama may have had our best interest at heart, but for sure he hoped to secure a particular voting bloc!

Romney has my vote: not working with UN to take away 2nd amend. rights; understands the economy & business, knows we need to tighten the borders, knows we have islamists trying to hurt us here & our interests abroad; knows that we can't keep the trade imbalance going with China & other countries;
we will have the largest tax increase in this country's history at the end of the year----no-one talks about this. O had the Congress for 2 yrs. until the voters understood they were under goverment-overreach, as never before;
Romney isn't my first pick but prefer him over someone with more socialist tendencies. No one person can be everything to everyone. I pay no attention to the debates because I have paid attention all my adult life & glean information from many sources all year long.
Being Pres. is not a debate situation----it is surrounding one-self with the best advisors, attending every security meeting each morning, wading carefully through foreign policy by being strong yet ready to talk. It certainly is not class warfare & pitting groups of people against each other.
Reagan dealt with Libya & they did not try another attack. Carter was weak with Iran & they took hostages. It is so much more complicated than an arrogant smile or rehearsed come-back.

obama has spent his campaign denigrating romney. what's his plan for the next 4 years? more of the same? i've had enough

gina=sidewalk bubblegum James???? that is fine with me I love bubblegum and there is nothing a tea bagger can throw at me that I can't handle...........President Obama won so get over yourself.

Larry King will serve as moderator for this special 2012 Presidential debate on October 23 at 9:00pm EDT at the Hilton Chicago.

The Free and Equal Elections Foundation, the only organization offering a platform to every major candidate, has assembled a diverse group of ballot-qualified candidates in order to offer a truly multi-partisan debate for American voters. With sponsoring organizations spanning the ideological spectrum from The Nation to The American Conservative, it is clear that both the left and right in this country agree that the two-party system is broken. Free and Equal’s debate will be the type of open, honest, and solutions oriented discussion that the American people deserve.

Unlike traditional mainstream debates, viewers will be invited to submit questions via the web and social media, creating the first truly open and democratic debate on record. People can submit questions via Free and Equal’s website, or they can use the hashtag #AskEmThisLarry on Twitter.

Watch the debate here.

Romney wants to push his "morals" on this country and although I think we could all stand to be a bit more conscious of what we do, I also believe women have the right to make decisions for themselves regarding their own health choices any man disagree? If so Please explain why you are able 24/7 OTC to purchase meds which can cause unwanted pregnancy? And then explain this to me Romney: why you see single parent homes less valuable than both parents? Or did you miss the fact that the majority of marriages end in divorce... And the economy: here's what I have to say about it Insurance companies, hospitals and corporations are the top earners in this country.That's gross. People used to go for free if you couldn't afford it bc back then everyone's health was important& dr would even come to you house calls Remember those Of course not docs started getting $330k worth of education which then required them to give into pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and insurances. Want the economy to get better? Make medicine non-profit that solves several issues, the first is the money the secnd is the corruption-yes I've been in the industry a while now it's everywhere. Dr doesn't care about you he cares whether you're insurance is paying.Truth hurts. THINK people.. Obama, he actually grew up like most of you. Romneys company (which he inherited) BUYS other companies.. He doesn't even know what it's like to be middle class let alone broke and struggling..

The debate tonight can be seen on cspan or free and equal

Lots of blah-blah going on here. I'll give you no opinions-just facts.
#1 The Fed caused the current economic crisis, just as it caused the Great Depression. If left alone, the economy will heal itself.
#2 The economy problem will fade into the background for the next president. Iran and radical Islam will overshadow everything, and that won't heal itself.
Period--end of report.

Romney out foxed obama. He didn't take the bait but got his points across. Obama lied about sequestration, things Romney said about Detroit and the bailout. Even the New York Times has an article quoting exactly what Romney said. Obama looked petulant, angry, and scared that he might lose and Romney didn't let him attack him. Romney looked cool, collected and presidential.

President Obama clearly won this debate. Unfortunately, there are those that are distracted by thing that do not matter.
We are all Americans that need a strong leader, not because you have deep pockets to buy whatever you desire. A leader with wisdom and who is looking out for the best interest for the average person.
Someone like me who works hard everyday to make things happen.