President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney met at Denver University Wednesday night for the first of three presidential debates.
Moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS came up with six different topics for candidates to discuss: three on the economy, one on health care, and two on government and governing.
Lehrer opened the debate with an economy segment, more specifically discussing jobs in the country. Obama responded first, discussing how he would go about creating new jobs. He said we as a country need to invest in education and training, and develop more small businesses. Obama commented on Romney’s approach as being skewed towards the wealthy, and taxing more to benefit the upper classes. The President said it is important for us to invest in education and small businesses because “America does best when the middle class does best.”
Romney’s response to the first segment was a detailed, five step plan of what he intends to do in office to create jobs. He wants to get America energy independent, open up more trade, focus on education, move towards a balance budget, and focus on the small business. Romney then commented on Obama’s approach from the last four years, calling it a “trickle-down government.” Lehrer then asked Obama to respond directly to the comment.
Obama responded with specific comments on what he felt the country needed to do such as focus on education, and become energy independent. He also stated that Romney and him agreed that corporate tax rates are too high, and he wants to lower them. He also wants to “provide tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States.” Obamas main question that he was asking of Romney’s campaign was “how can we reduce the deficit…and make the investments we need to make without dumping those costs onto middle-class Americans..?”
Romney and Obama disagreed on how tax cuts are affecting middle-class families. Romney argued that under Obama’s policies the middle class is being “crushed.” Obama states that we need to support middle-income families because our country does better when they are doing well.
After a longer-than-allotted period of discussion on the economy and taxes, Lehrer moved the debate onto the topic of economy and deficit. Romney opened the segment by stating his opinion of three ways to cut a deficit. One option would be to raise taxes, another to cut spending, and lastly to grow the economy. Romney went on to say he would cut anything from spending that didn’t pass this test: “Is the program so critical it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? If not, I’ll get rid of it.” Romney made a point of stating that Obamacare would be one of the first things to go.
President Obama responded with an explanation of the deficit he faced in the Oval Office four years ago. He said that his plan to further reduce deficit would be “$2.50 for every cut, we ask for $1 of additional revenue, paid for… by asking those of us who have done very well in this country to contribute a little bit more to reduce the deficit.” Obama pointed out that this is a major contrast between his and Romney’s campaign attitudes.
After considerable further discussion on the economy, Lehrer segued conversation to the role of governing. President Obama responded first, saying that he thought the mission of the federal government, first and foremost is to keep the American people safe. He added that the federal government also has the capacity to create freedom and great opportunities for the American people.
Romney responded with the view that it is the federal government’s responsibility to protect the life and liberty of American people. He stated that a strong military is essential to this, and we need to maintain that strength. He also commented on the fact that government should not get in the way of individuals pursuing their own dreams. Romney and Obama both agreed that education is very important to building the future of our country.
After more conversation, Lehrer announced the closing statements. With this first debate having a hard time staying on topic and within time allotments, both President Obama and Governor Romney’s statements made an impact on the watching nation. The question is, will Obama be able to hold the Democratic lead in the race? The next debate is Thursday, October 11 at 9 pm.
~Katie Hurst