Rivals duel over global leadership
Obama goes on attack; Romney defends vision
An aggressive President Obama and an impassive Mitt Romney fought over foreign policy Monday night in a third and final debate marked by charges that Obama has shown weakness and Romney has been reckless.
On issues ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to China’s currency, Romney accused Obama of presiding over a period of receding U.S. influence. Other nations “saw weakness where they had expected to see American strength,” he said.
Obama responded by accusing Romney of rhetorical recklessness or serial flip-flopping. “Every time you’ve offered an opinion, you’ve been wrong,” the president said, accusing his Republican opponent of “reckless leadership that is all over the map.”
It was a role reversal from the first debate three weeks ago, when Romney took the fight to Obama over jobs and the economy and seized the momentum in the campaign. This time, Obama repeatedly challenged Romney’s assertions as if he was fighting to come from behind. Romney responded, “Attacking me is not an agenda.”
The debate, held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., could decide who gets momentum in the campaign’s final two weeks. Seeking to be the one, Obama and Romney battled over war, terrorism and nuclear threats.
Despite a record that includes winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, weakening al- Qaeda and killing Osama bin Laden, Obama was forced to defend his policies as Romney bemoaned recent chaotic developments in Libya and Syria.
Obama, appearing in the last debate of his last campaign, credited his administration for restoring America’s image in the world, supporting freedom fighters during the Arab Spring and bringing thousands of U.S. troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan. He claimed Romney would risk those gains with dangerous saber-rattling rather than delicate negotiating.
The debate was supposed to stick to foreign policy, but both candidates veered into economic issues in an attempt to score points with the election two weeks away.
Romney said high unemployment and slow growth are undercutting U.S. influence in the world, citing China’s unfair trade practices and Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Obama repeated his assertions that Romney’s proposed tax cuts and military spending levels would hike the budget deficit or cripple the middle class.
When Romney called for more military spending than the president has proposed, Obama quipped, “This is not a game of battleship, where we’re counting ships.”
Compared with Romney’s dominance of the first debate and Obama’s partial comeback in the second, Monday’s debate was a more nuanced give-and-take about the globe’s most pressing problems. At times, Romney agreed with Obama on policies, such as the surge and planned removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and increased drone strikes on terrorists.
Polls have shown Romney gaining nationally but Obama maintaining a slight lead on international issues, according to the Pew Research Center. Obama’s campaign has sought to maintain that edge by portraying Romney and running mate Paul Ryan as one of the most inexperienced tickets on foreign policy in decades. Romney’s goal has been to characterize the global scene as one in which U.S. allies such as Israel are threatened, while potential enemies such as Iran and China feel emboldened.