Obama Attacks and Wins

Those who viewed the Democrat Barack Obama as lethargic and apathetic in the first great electoral debate with aspiring Republican Mitt Romney were not mistaken in their evaluation. However, those who thought that Obama was no longer the same one that, four years earlier, electrified the audience with his enthusiastic speaking were completely mistaken. During the second presidential debate before the American election on Nov. 6, Obama was himself again and dominated Romney, who had defeated him in the first debate, held in Denver on Oct. 3.

This time Obama’s method was different. The president adopted an energetic tone from the first moments of the debate, hitting Romney where it hurt the most and not missing any chance for cutting remarks. It’s not that Romney was bad; it’s that Obama was better.

The debate, opened to the questions from the public, covered an ample agenda. Perhaps the economic section was of the most importance. Besides outlining their policies, Obama did not hesitate bringing it down to a personal level. Especially when he reminded Romney that his taxes paid was only 14 percent and attributed to his millionaire status — Romney´s investments return about $20 million annually — [and] his desire to maintain a low tax system for capital gains. Obama did not miss the opportunity to remind Romney: “It [my pension plan] is not as big as yours.” Faced with these tax imbalances, he expressed his desire to maintain lowering the taxes of the middle class and small businesses.

The Democratic candidate looked for a head-to-head battle with Romney in matters that could win him the support of various social groups, like Hispanics or women. For that reason, he attacked Romney’s restrictive ideas on immigration and his support of self-deportation. This is also why he was against wage inequalities due to sex. One of the hottest points of the dialogue was the reference to the recent attack on the North American consulate in Benghazi (Libya), in which the ambassador and three other civil employees were killed. Romney attributed to Obama an oversight that the debate moderator made sure to deny. Immediately afterward, Obama very severely censured the political use of a subject like this.

Willing to clear up any doubt about his desire to remain four more years in the White House, Obama attacked until the end, when he condemned Romney with an unfortunate campaign commentary: his disdain of the 47 percent of North Americans who, to a certain extent, depend on public aid.

Beyond the results of the struggle, what’s certain is that Americans enjoyed yesterday’s debate, which has already been described as one as the best debates in North American electoral history. That is to say, an intense discussion with defined positions that made us remember that not all candidates think the same and that the political struggle is pertinent.