The headlines in the local New York newspapers made it sound like they were reporting on a boxing match or a football championship game. The New York Times claimed Rivals Bring Bare Fists to Rematch and For the President, Punch, Punch, Another Punch. The front page of the Daily News told how Bam Boom Obama Lands Punches in Fierce Round 2 Comeback. Inside, we learned Recharged Obama, Mitt Romney tangle in contentious duel at Hofstra. The New York Post, which barely qualifies as a newspaper, told readers how Mitt, Bam go blow to blow.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
http://www.nytimes.com/...
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
http://www.nypost.com/...
But the second 2012 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University should have been about more than political theater. After all the United States will be electing the most who is supposed to lead the nation and the world out of its current economic doldrums and will head the most powerful military force in the history of the globe.
But politics in the United States seems to be increasingly a spectator sport. While the television numbers were strong, off campus the crowds were light. Police and private security lingered with little to do. Most students stayed home and those that attended on campus events were largely intent on grabbing the “swag” provided by candidates and media outlets to add to the festive nature of the happening.
On Hempstead Turnpike and at the free-speech stage in the School of Education parking lot there were only a few hundred protesters and they had no coherent message. Groups ranging from 10 to 20 people each were pro and anti-abortion, pro and anti-war, demanded student debt relief, support for people with HIV, and the legalization of marijuana. There was one creative giant puppet portraying Romney’s Bain Capital as a Incredible Hulk like monster. The Green Party candidate for President who was barred from the debate was arrested when she tried to crash the party at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Unfortunately it was before the media was really set up to record the event.
The Gallup organization chose 82 uncommitted voters from the New York area to ask questions at the 2012 Hofstra Presidential Debate, although it is unclear how they found 82 uncommitted voters at this point in the campaign.
As a teacher and teacher educator, I have been trying to direct students to look less at the pageantry and the attitudes of the candidates and more at what they actually said, which frequently had little to do with the questions that were asked. I put together an activity sheet for classroom use. Here are the questions and partial answers by the candidates with some minimal editing for the sake of coherence. I always show Mitt Romney’s reply first although during the debate they took turns.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Jeremy Epstein: As a 20-year-old college student, all I hear from professors, neighbors and others is that when I graduate, I will have little chance to get employment. What can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?
Mitt Romney: When I was governor of Massachusetts, to get a high school degree, you had to pass an exam. If you graduated in the top quarter of your class, we gave you a John and Abigail Adams scholarship, four years tuition free in the college of your choice in Massachusetts, it’s a public institution . . . When you come out in 2014, I presume I’m going to be president. I’m going to make sure you get a job . . .
Barack Obama: First of all, your future is bright . . . The most important thing we can do is to make sure that we are creating jobs in this country. But not just jobs, good paying jobs. Ones that can support a family . . . I want to build manufacturing jobs in this country again . . . We’ve got to make sure that we have the best education system in the world . . . I want everybody to get a great education and we’ve worked hard to make sure that student loans are available for folks like you.
Mitt Romney: We have not made the progress we need to make to put people back to work. That’s why I put out a five-point plan that gets America 12 million new jobs in four years and rising take-home pay. It’s going to help Jeremy get a job when he comes out of school. It’s going to help people across the country that are unemployed right now.
Barack Obama: Governor Romney doesn’t have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. That’s been his philosophy in the private sector, that’s been his philosophy as governor, that’s been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.
Phillip Tricolla: Your energy secretary has now been on record three times stating it’s not policy of his department to help lower gas prices. Do you agree with Secretary Chu that this is not the job of the Energy Department?
Mitt Romney: I want to make sure we use our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear, our renewables. I believe very much in our renewable capabilities; ethanol, wind, solar will be an important part of our energy mix. But what we don’t need is to have the president keeping us from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas. This has not been Mr. Oil, or Mr. Gas, or Mr. Coal . . . I can tell you that tomorrow morning, a lot of people in Hempstead will wake up and fill up and they will find that the price of gas is over $4 a gallon.
Barack Obama: The most important thing we can do is to make sure we control our own energy . .. We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years. Natural gas production is the highest it’s been in decades. We have seen increases in coal production and coal employment. But what I’ve also said is we can’t just produce traditional source of energy. We’ve also got to look to the future. That’s why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars . . . That’s why we doubled clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels.
Mary Follano: Governor Romney, you have stated that if you’re elected president, you would plan to reduce the tax rates for all the tax brackets and that you would work with the Congress to eliminate some deductions in order to make up for the loss in revenue?
Mitt Romney: Concerning these various deductions, the mortgage deductions, the charitable deductions, the child tax credit the education credits, what would be your position on those things, which are important to the middle class?
is I want to bring the rates down, I want to simplify the tax code, and I want to get middle- income taxpayers to have lower taxes and the reason I want middle-income taxpayers to have lower taxes is because middle-income taxpayers have been buried over the past four years. Because I’m going to bring rates down across the board for everybody, but I’m going to limit deductions and exemptions and credits, particularly for people at the high end, because I am not going to have people at the high end pay less than they’re paying now . . . Middle-income people are going to get a tax break.
Barack Obama: My philosophy on taxes has been simple . . . I want to give middle-class families and folks who are striving to get into the middle-class some relief beecause they have been hit hard over the last decade . . . But what I’ve also said is, if we’re serious about reducing the deficit, if this is genuinely a moral obligation to the next generation, then in addition to some tough spending cuts, we’ve also got to make sure that the wealthy do a little bit more. So what I’ve said is, your first $250,000.00 worth of income, no change . . . above $250,000, we can go back to the tax rates we had when Bill Clinton was president.
Katherine Fenton: In what new ways to you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?
Mitt Romney: When I was serving as governor of my state, I had the chance to pull together a cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men. I went to my staff and I said, “How come all the people for these jobs are all men.” They said, “Well, these are the people that have the qualifications.” And I said, “can’t we find some women that are also qualified?” We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said, “Can you help us find folks,” and they brought us whole binders full of women.
Barack Obama: The first bill I signed was something called the Lily Ledbetter bill named after this amazing woman who had been doing the same job as a man for years, found out that she was getting paid less, and the Supreme Court said that she couldn’t bring suit because she should have found about it earlier, whereas she had no way of finding out about it. So we fixed that. And that’s an example of the kind of advocacy that we need, because women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family. This is not just a women’s issue, this is a family issue, this is a middle-class issue, and that’s why we’ve got to fight for it.
Susan Katz: I am an undecided voter because I’m disappointed with the lack of progress I’ve seen in the last four years. I do attribute much of America’s economic and international problems to the failings and missteps of the Bush administration. Since both you and President Bush are Republicans, I fear a return to the policies of those years should you win this election. What is the biggest difference between you and George Bush, and how do you differ-entiate yourself from George W. Bush?
Mitt Romney: President Bush and I are different people and these are different times . . . by virtue of new technology actually get all the energy we need in North America without having to go to the Arabs or the Venezuelans or anyone else . . . I’ll crack down on China, President Bush didn’t. I’m also going to dramatically expand trade in Latin America . . . I’m going to get us to a balanced budget . . . everything I’ll do is designed to help small businesses grow and add jobs. My priority is jobs. I know how to make that happen.
Barack Obama: Governor Romney says that he has a very different economic plan, the centerpiece of his economic plan are tax cuts. That’s what took us from surplus to deficit. When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that Governor Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of out-sourcing to China . . . There are some things where Governor Romney is different from George Bush. George Bush didn’t propose turning Medicare into a voucher . . . never suggested that we eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, so there are differences between Governor Romney and George Bush, but they’re not on economic policy.
Michael Jones: Mr. President, I voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012?
Mitt Romney: These last four years haven’t been so good as the president just described and that you don’t feel like your confident that the next four years are going to be much better either . . . We just can’t afford four more years like the last four years . . . He said that by now we’d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work . . . The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again.
Barack Obama: Four years ago, I told the American people . . . I would cut taxes for middle class families and I did. I told you I’d cut taxes for small businesses and I have. I said that I’d end the war in Iraq and I did. I said we’d refocus attention on those who actually attacked us on 9/11 and we have gone after Al Qaeda’s leadership like never before and Osama bin Laden is dead. I said that we would put in place health care reform . . . and I have. I committed that I would rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and we passed the toughest Wall Street reforms since the 1930s.
Lorraine Osorio: What do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green cards that are currently living here as productive members of society?
Mitt Romney: There are 4 million people who are waiting in line to get here legally. Those who’ve come here illegally take their place. So I will not grant amnesty to those who have come here illegally.
Barack Obama: If we’re going to go after folks who are here illegally, we should do it smartly and go after folks who are criminals, gang bangers, people who are hurting the community, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they’re trying to figure out how to feed their families.
Kerry Ladka: We were reading and became aware of reports that the State Department refused extra security for our embassy in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the attacks that killed four Americans. Who was it that denied enhanced security and why?
Mitt Romney: There were many days that passed before we knew whether this was a spontaneous demonstration, or actually whether it was a terrorist attack . . . It was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people. Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn’t know what happened . . . it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.
Barack Obama: Nobody is more concerned about their safety and security than I am . . . We are going to find out who did this and we’re going to hunt them down, because one of the things that I’ve said throughout my presidency is when folks mess with Americans, we go after them . . . I am ultimately responsible for what’s taking place there because these are my folks, and I’m the one who has to greet those coffins when they come home.
Nina Gonzalez: President Obama, what has your administration done or planned to do to limit the availability of assault weapons?
Mitt Romney: I’m not in favor of new pieces of legislation on guns and taking guns away or making certain guns illegal. We don’t want to have automatic weapons, and that’s already illegal in this country to have automatic weapons. What I believe is we have to do is to make enormous efforts to enforce the gun laws that we have, and to change the culture of violence . . . I believe if we do a better job in education, we’ll give people the hope and opportunity they deserve and perhaps less violence from that . . . We need moms and dads, helping to raise kids. . .Tell our kids that before they have babies, they ought to think about getting married to someone, that’s a great idea . . . If there’s a two parent family, the prospect of living in poverty goes down dramatically.
Barack Obama: We’re a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second Amendment. We’ve got a long tradition of hunting and sportsmen and people who want to make sure they can protect themselves . . . My belief is that we have to enforce the laws we’ve already got, make sure that we’re keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill. We’ve done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we’ve got more to do when it comes to enforcement . . . I also share your belief that weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don’t belong on our streets. And so what I’m trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence.
Carol Goldberg: The outsourcing of American jobs overseas has taken a toll on our economy. What plans do you have to put back and keep jobs here in the United States?
Mitt Romney: China is now the largest manufacturer in the world. It used to be the United States of America. A lot of good people have lost jobs . . . One of the reasons for that is that people think it’s more attractive in some cases to go offshore than to stay here. We have made it less attractive for enterprises to stay here than to go offshore from time to time. What I will do as president is make sure it’s more attractive to come to America again . . . That’s why I want to down the tax rates on small employers, big employers, so they want to be here.
Barack Obama: Governor Romney and I agree actually that we should lower our corporate tax rate. It’s too high . . . Romney actually wants to expand those tax breaks. One of his big ideas when it comes to corporate tax reform would be to say, if you invest overseas, you make profits overseas, you don’t have to pay U.S. taxes . . . It’s estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs. The problem is they’ll be in China. Or India. Or Germany. That’s not the way we’re going to create jobs here.
Barry Green: What do you believe is the biggest misperception that the American people have about you as a man and a candidate?
Mitt Romney: I care about 100 percent of the American people. I want 100 percent of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future. I care about our kids. I understand what it takes to make a bright and prosperous future for America again. I spent my life in the private sector, not in government. I’m a guy who wants to help with the experience I have, the American people.
My passion probably flows from the fact that I believe in God. And I believe we’re all children of the same God. I believe we have a responsibility to care for one another. I served as a missionary for my church. I served as a pastor in my congregation for about 10 years. I’ve sat across the table from people who were out of work and worked with them to try and find new work or to help them through tough times.
Barack Obama: I believe that the free enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity the world’s ever known. I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative and risk takers being rewarded. But I also believe that everybody should have a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same rules, because that’s how our economy’s grown. That’s how we built the world’s greatest middle class . . . There’s a fundamentally different vision about how we move our country forward. I believe Governor Romney is a good man. Loves his family, cares about his faith. But I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country considered themselves victims who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about.