And the Winner Is…

Those who hoped for blood or a body slumped on the ropes will be disappointed. There is no doubt that the current president, who is immersed daily in the relevant files, clearly dominated the last debate, which was devoted to foreign policies.

Quite simply, Barack Obama visibly regained his presidential stature and image of a leader, which was questioned after his poor performance on October 3. This time, as on October 16, he hit hard. For example, responding to Romney’s criticisms of the state of the armed forces, (the number of naval vessels allegedly lower than in 1916) with a masterful sortie: “Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.” If Romney wanted to draw his sword to prove his virile attachment to military power, it was easily deflected by the current commander in chief.

In addition, Obama had no trouble refuting an unmethodical and avid adversary, eager to prove his knowledge of the world’s conflicts (Romney’s reference to northern Mali will be remembered as a television first) to the point of jumping from Iran to Israel and then to Pakistan, weakening his argument.

The president, by means of constant counterattacks against a Romney who accused him of inertia in the face of world chaos, succeeded in making the Republican admit that the latter shared the majority of his views. A strange, inverted echo of the first debate on October 3.

This evening Romney was in a delicate position, caught between the desire to affirm his self-assurance and the desire to avoid appearing as a war-monger à la George Bush. And so we saw an amusing jig, where the Republican candidate repeated the arguments of… the Democratic left; hostile to constant strike drones, quipping “we can’t kill our way out of this mess,” before advocating more economic and cultural aid in the Middle East, for fear of appearing like a dangerous falcon.

Perhaps the subject of foreign policy was not the best ground for a direct uppercut to the jaw. The imbroglio of the attack on American diplomats in Libya was strangely ignored. The Mexican neighbor, a theatre of a true massacre by the cartels, was not even mentioned. Europe? Key to the American recovery? Not a word. Each candidate saw in this debate a means of promoting their image, the pretext of token gestures intended to garner swing votes. Jewish voters (the debate took place in Florida)? No, in fact, not really. Women had that honor. Romney, outdistanced by Obama in regard to women voters, sought to reassure mothers about their future security, but also to affirm himself as a moderate, humanitarian, reluctant to send our boys off to fight another distant war; and a “partisan of peace.” *

It’s not surprising that both [candidates], especially Romney, tried three times in a row, almost comically, to return the subject to the domestic economy, the budget deficit, PME**, and class size in public education. Obama carried the maneuver, turning away from America’s role in the world to approach the need for ”some nation building here at home.”

Romney, however, was not ridiculed. Always favored by low expectations, he was able to appear reasonably credible to independent voters, and completely suited to his future function in the eyes of the Republican base.

What’s next? What’s the result of this debate? Obama certainly succeeded in slowing, if not stopping, his decline in the polls and above all restored voters’ confidence in him. Romney, for his part, considers himself to have reached his electoral maximum with a perfect equality vis-a-vis the Democrat, even seeing an advantage in certain states, and can only glean a few additional crumbs of the electorate. From this comes the temptation to go on the defensive, to calm the rhetoric games in order to anchor himself to the center until November 6. Obama, on the other hand, is launching the last offensive of the campaign, to make the difference now.

*Editor’s Note: This quote, while accurately translated, could not be verified.

**Editor’s Note: PME stands for “Petites et Moyennes Entreprises,” which means small and medium businesses or enterprises.