The second Obama-Romney 2012 presidential debate took place at Hofstra University in suburban New York on October 16th 2012. It was a townhall debate where undecided voters asked the questions. CNN reporter Candy Crowley moderated. George Will called it the best presidential debate in over 50 years.
The set-up favoured President Obama: not only does he have more experience at townhall debates, it took place in a very blue state. So questions were about blue-state issues.
Obama had to do very well after his poor performance at the first debate, which cost him millions of likely votes. Obama is a good speaker but not a great debater. This time, though, he repurposed his stump speech and was able to keep Romney on defence most of the time. It was a dream come true for Democrats: Obama did all the things they wanted him to do the last time, like calling out Romney on his lies and his secret statement about 47% of Americans not taking “personal responsibility”.
When Romney was asked about equal pay for women, he sidestepped the question and instead talked about having “binders full of women” when filling positions as governor (affirmative action, notice). The phrase quickly became the laughingstock of the Internet.
Romney’s biggest mistake was on Libya. Last month an American ambassador was murdered by terrorists in Benghazi, Libya. When Obama was asked why his administration refused requests for greater security beforehand, he completely sidestepped the question! But instead of nailing him on that, Romney took issue about when Obama first called it an “act of terror”!
It gets worse: When Obama said he called it an act of terror the day after, Romney thought he had caught him in a lie:
ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.
OBAMA: Get the transcript.
CROWLEY: It – it – it – he did in fact, sir. So let me – let me call it an act of terror…
OBAMA: Can you say that a little louder, Candy?
Who needs Google when you have Republican propaganda!
On gun control when asked about limiting AK-47s, Romney ruled out any change to the law. Instead:
I believe if we do a better job in education, we’ll, we’ll give people the hope and opportunity they deserve, and perhaps less violence from that.
But let me mention another thing, and that is parents. We need moms and dads helping raise kids. … to tell our kids that before they have babies, they ought to think about getting married to someone – that’s a great idea because if there’s a two-parent family, the prospect of living in poverty goes down dramatically. The opportunities that the child will, will be able to achieve increase dramatically.
So we can make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away from violence and give them opportunity and bring them in the American system.
The gun industry has spent millions during this election on Romney’s behalf.

The Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle that James Holmes used to gun down 70 people, killing 12, in Aurora, Colorado last summer. Holmes came from a two-parent family and had a university education.
See also:
Abagond…“The set-up favoured President Obama” Actually, it’s all “se-up” (by contract) to favor either or, but certainly not a third party: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/16/presidential-debate-issues
Green Party candidate, Jill Stein and her running mate were arrested and detained outside Hofstra while the two empty suits put on their “contracted” show: http://www.salon.com/2012/10/17/green_party_candidate_arrested_outside_debate/?source=newsletter
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“we’ll give people the hope and opportunity they deserve, and perhaps less violence from that”
“we can make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away from violence and give them opportunity and bring them in the American system”
H-m-m-h, that is how control the use of AK-47s?
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There was one other thing I noticed. Romney was asked about the immigration issue. He totally deviated from the question. I can’t remember what he was talking about, but it had absolutely nothing to do with immigration.
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One thing you missed on the gun issue. Romney tried to call him out on the border agent that was killed by possible U.S. government supplied weapons, to some form of the “Mexican Mafia” drug lords. When he tried to bring up the fact that Obama used executive privilege to block any investigation on the matter, the moderator swiftly brushed that issue aside. I think had he brought that up more strategically, at the beginning of the question, he might have shed more light on it.
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Romney definitely lost… But he did tell me something about himself, and how he will help with jobs and the economy. I wasn’t aware that he balanced the olympics budget when it was in trouble a few years ago. He sold me on the fact that he was a minister of his chuch for 10 years, and a very successful governor for his state. He stated those facts with confidence. Obama even said to the voters “I believe Mitt Romney is a good man……..but… “… I think he’s right on the good man part.
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Successful? When Romney was governor, he put his state was in massive debt, and under him, Mass. was 47 out of 50 when it came to employment.
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[…] "On gun control when asked about limiting AK-47s, Romney ruled out any change to the law." – MORE – […]
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Mitt Romney excels at lying – as Abagond pointed out, Candy Crowley and Obama called him out for it when he said that Obama didn’t say the Benghazi murders were acts of terror – Fact of matter – Obama said exactly that. You want a president who can look directly at you in the eyes and say what he wants you to hear EVEN when it conflicts DIRECTLY with reality – vote Romney. Obama does not do that – he has too much integrity.
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[…] The second Obama-Romney 2012 presidential debate « Abagond Go to this article […]
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“dave
Romney definitely lost… But he did tell me something about himself, and how he will help with jobs and the economy. I wasn’t aware that he balanced the olympics budget when it was in trouble a few years ago.”
Linda says,
Romney used money from the Federal government to fund the Utah Olympics…this is what I don’t like about the Republican party and the message that Romney is trying to sell — the hypocrisy.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-expensive-olympics-federal-funding
They ruined the country in less than 8 years (slide started in 2000) and now they want to act like they have some sort of “new” strategy that’s going to fix it– Please
something this large will not be fixed overnight — just like with fat people, they gain weight real fast and it takes 2x as long to lose the weight…no one has a miracle pill.
They keep saying (and made a big production about) they want the Federal government out of business and that States should be more fiscally self-sufficient;
but then, when they needed money, they went begging to the Federal government (Like Rick Scott of Florida and Paul Ryan) for help; even though, in the beginning of Obama’s term, both of these politicians made a huge public gesture of turning down bail-out money.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/21/3014612/feds-turn-tables-on-scott-deny.html
Basically, they (and Romney) are talking out of both sides of their a’s.
Like all politicians, they make public declarations and then do the opposite behind closed doors.
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Bruce Springsteen writes a long and TRUTHFUL letter expressing his support for Obama on his website.
http://brucespringsteen.net/news/2012/a-message-from-bruce
@ Abagond,
Did you notice when Romney was trying to hulk at Obama and be physically agressive and Candy Crowley told him to sit down. LOL. I would have liked to see more of people telling him to sit down. Starting to see bits and pieces of this debate and he is quite aggressive in his pose, tone, cadence, physical gestures, word choices etc. Just like Tagg wants to smack down Obama, I bet Sasha and Malia Obama would like to roll their eyes at Romney. They are too classy to talk gutter like Tagg.
Anywho… I hope Obama takes Romney down again at the next debate.
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Mitt Romney says that Fed Government doesn’t create Jobs, but he keeps telling the American people that he can create Jobs. While at the same tiem tryine yot apply for a federal job, Hypocrites
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Abagond
Mitt Romney won the debate…Bottomline! Anybody with common sense can see that. All of the (Democrat Apologist) on this blog make me laugh. Black people have been voting for the same group of politicians for over 50 years, and what do we have to show for it…Nothing! Blackmen who run around yapping about what Republicans have done to them are full of s***. We’ve been castrated Abagond, What the hell are they talking about?
Tyrone
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Well start your own party that has a chance of winning the election. Cause I know darn well the Repub ain’t trying to do crap for us. Oh yeah Mitt Romney got his butt handed to him. Tel him to stop Lying
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Romney lost this debate! Pres. Obama won but now we have to focus on electing Pres. Obama for another term.
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