The Compass: Obama and Romney Attend Town Hall Debate, Forget Town
The Compass: Obama and Romney Attend Town Hall Debate, Forget Town
By Gretchen Hamel
As seen on The Compass
As the dust settles from the second presidential debate, one question looms—we saw the hall but where was the town? The objectives going in were clear: Romney wanted to bolster his momentum from the last debate, and Obama wanted to make up lost ground. But really happened was this—the candidates were more concerned with throwing out rehearsed answers to the questions they wanted to be asked rather than giving honest answers to questions that actually were asked.
The people who sat surrounding the candidates became a quaint backdrop as both candidates disengaged from their questions to instead rally a quarrel back and forth in an all out fight to get ahead. They completely missed the mark on addressing the real concerns Americans have about government spending, the debt and the health of the economy.
The election is close enough to smell, and Americans want both Obama and Romney to lay down their armor and lay out their plans to tackle big policy issues like how to jumpstart a stalling economy, cut spending, reduce the deficit and balance the budget.
In the week leading up to the debate the Obama campaign hinted that the president would make a case for why he deserved four more years and what plans he has going forward. The Romney camp said to stay tuned for tough talk on debt and deficits. What took place was an often-confusing circus of candidates meandering around the stage and aggressive stares that gave way to quips and zingers. These promises were unaccounted for.
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