“I presume I’m going to be president,” said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as he and President Barack Obama met last night in an intense second of three presidential debates at Hofstra University in Long Island, NY.
Romney had a 4 percent lead with 50 percent among likely voters while Obama trailed at 46 percent before the debate, according to the Gallup presidential poll.
The second debate, unlike the first, included 82 undecided voters in a town hall format that allowed citizens to ask both the president and governor questions.
With just 20 days until Election Day, Obama tried to swing the momentum in his favor after what he described as a “bad night” in the first debate, while Romney tried to keep his momentum going after his successful performance.
In the first debate, President Obama was seemingly passive and disengaged and steered clear of pointing out Romney’s flaws whereas Romney had no problem attacking the president pointing out his broken promises.
It’s safe to say, this was a completely different Obama and a completely different debate that included repeated confrontations between the two candidates.
New polls released late Tuesday night indicated that more voters thought Obama edged Romney.
The first question came from 20-year-old college student and first time voter, Jeremy Epstein, who had concerns about unemployment after graduation.
Romney described products of the Obama administration over the last four years as, “more debt and less jobs.”
“I’m going to change that. I know what it takes to create good jobs again,” Romney said. “When you come out in 2014… I’m going to make sure you get a job.”
He further explained that he plans to cut taxes, provide more jobs for Americans, and equal pay for the 72 percent of women are do not make the same amount of money as their male counterparts by providing more jobs keeping “our Pell grant program growing and…having a loan program” and establishing a Five Point Plan to make sure people have a higher education.
Previously in the presidential race, Romney explained that he plans to cut student funding and told college students to borrow money from their parents instead of getting student loans.
“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,” said Obama.
The N.C. A&T collegiate chapter of the NAACP hosted a watch party to help keep students informed about the election.
“I [was] looking for the facts to outshine the rhetoric,” said A&T student Patrick Moseley, a non-partisan voter and political science student. “With Obama’s frequent use of the same phrases…I could’ve said it for him and with Governor Romney, he keeps saying he has the tools to fix things but doesn’t explain the policies he plans to implement the changes.”
The last presidential debate will be on Monday, Oct. 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. at 9 p.m.
[email protected] and follow her on Twitter @KayRob_
Christopher Martin contributed to this article. or full coverage of the debate, visit ncatregister.com.
- Karmen Robinson, managing editor
