Watching the second presidential debate on Tuesday was a sobering and frustrating experience. Once again, both candidates were unable to draw any serious policy distinctions between themselves. Once again, both candidates avoided giving direct answers regarding what exactly they are going to accomplish and how they are going to accomplish it.
The moderator in the debate was disgraceful. If Candy Crowley had any journalistic integrity, she would not have dishonestly corrected Mitt Romney and told him to “sit down” in front of a national audience. Is no one else offended by this?
Candy Crowley backed Obama up when he claimed that a day after the Benghazi attacks, he spoke in the Rose Garden and labeled them terrorist attacks. Obama’s exact words were: “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.” In no way did he label the attack on the Benghazi embassy as a terrorist attack. He avoided the phrase for weeks while he blamed a ridiculous YouTube video, which led to the creator’s arrest and confinement in a maximum security federal prison.
Perhaps the most amazing moment of the night was when Obama dismissed all of Apple’s manufacturing jobs in China as “low-skill and low-wage.” I literally cannot believe he is so elitist that he would snub his nose at honest work. We have 47 million individuals in this country on food stamps and a huge number of people that are unemployed; I’m sure many of those people would love any job they can get their hands on. The fact that Romney didn’t even call him out for this rhetoric is laughable. Both of these individuals are grotesque and the debate gives evidence that we need to look to other options.
Steven is a junior majoring in biochemistry and political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
