The Survey Says...

Well, we have completed the debate cycle for the 2012 presidential election.  We've heard about domestic policy, foreign policy and everything in between.  So what does the score card look like after three head to head meetings of the candidates for our next President of these United States?  Survey says...Obama 2 - Romney 1.  Romney had Obama on the ropes in round one.  Obama held his own and edged out Romney in round two.  Obama got the KO in round three.  See CNN's poll results for each debate.

Most Americans are neither well informed nor interested in foreign policy discussions, making the final debate not as popular as the other two.  Plus, the debate went head to head with Monday Night Football and game seven of the National League Championship series.  If you didn't watch the last debate you missed something special.  Romney said he had some "zingers" planned for the first round.  We heard about "trickle down government" and the "economy tax" on the middle class  Well, Obama had some hay makers in store for us in round three.  We got gems like "The 1980's are calling and they want their foreign policy back" and "In 1917 we had more horses and bayonets too!".

Beyond the war of words, let's get down to the substance.  President Obama has been the Commander-In-Chief for the past four years.  During his first term the war in Iraq was brought to conclusion, Osama bin Laden was assassinated, and the draw down of troops in Afghanistan has begun.  When Obama first ran for the Office of the Presidency recognizing his weaknesses in the foreign policy arena, he chose Joe Biden as his running mate.  Biden's experience in foreign policy includes his long tenure as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  This was and continues to be an asset to the Obama administration.  By comparison, Governor Romney with no foreign policy experience chose a running mate with an equally insufficient foreign policy resume.

When given the opportunity to detail his foreign policy platform Romney spent half of the time agreeing with the actions and policies implemented by the Obama administration and the other half telling us about his experience as Governor of Massachusetts with a touch of psycho-babble added in (witness the "I love teachers" diatribe).  Does serving as the governor of a small New England state that shares no borders with any other country really qualify as foreign policy experience?  Hell, you can't even see Russia from there!  Jesse Ventura was once the governor of Minnesota, which shares a border with Canada.  Presidential?  Probably not.

Americans need to develop a deeper comprehension concerning the position our nation occupies in the community of nations and among many actors on the international stage in the 21st century   We do not wield the hegemony we did in the decades following the Second World War.  The bi-polar detente that existed during the Cold War no longer defines the background of our relationships with other countries.  The rise of new world powers such as India and China, the actions of rogue nation states and their ruling elite, and the impact of zealous ideologies espoused by terrorist organizations have forever changed the manner in which we engage other nations.  These realities require a foreign policy that combines measured diplomacy with national security.  We will learn that the most powerful military in the world is no match for the convictions of extremists who do not measure their victory in terms of regime change or occupying forces.

So, it's up to you now to vote.  Early voting and absentee voting began this week.  To find out more information about early voting and absentee ballots please visit www.canivote.org  This is a much better option for many people than waiting in line on election day.  Do NOT get discouraged.  Let your voice be heard.  GO VOTE!

And The Winner Is...

This evening America had the opportunity to watch President Obama and Governor Romney debate one another for the first time.  I watched the debate on CNN with a friend and a few beers.  I tried to take good notes and was eager to hear Romney's "zingers" that he's allegedly been working on for the past several weeks.  I think I heard a few of them like "trickle down government" and "economy tax".  If you watched it you probably had a few in mind yourself.

A friend of mine asked who I thought won.  I am obviously quite partisan and biased, so my vote in November is pretty obvious.  In spite of that, I had to say that I think the advantage went to Governor Romney in this first debate.  The advantage is held by the challenger in these debates as the incumbent is constantly on the defensive attempting to defend the record of the first four years.  I think Romney used that advantage quite effectively this evening.

The important take away however is not who won or who lost.  As a member of the electorate, you need to decide who presents a better set of policies for you.  I was particularly amused by Governor Romney's cherry picking approach as Jim Lehrer attempted (unsuccessfully I may add) to moderate a direct comparison between the candidate's policies on key domestic issues.  Romney attempted to select the positive aspects of legislation passed during the past four years while at the same time leaving the electorate completely in the dark as to how he would work with Congress to craft legislation that would implement the rest of "his plan". Analytically, you have to decide if you heard enough detail from either candidate to support your vote for that set of policies.  I didn't hear any specifics from Romney,only generalizations and the "likes" he borrowed from President Obama.

I'll end this post with the following thought - Governor Romney stated one of the primary purposes of government is to defend the Constitution.  Along those lines he claims that the principles of Freedom and Liberty can be achieved through a strong military.  How specifically are Freedom and Liberty achieved in a domestic sense through a strong military?  I'm not convinced.