BOCA RATON, FLORIDA – Ukraine didn’t come up once. Poland got one mention, with U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney trying to score points against his Nov. 6 rival, U.S. President Barack Obama, for abandoning missile-defense plans.
Russia did come up a few times in the Oct. 22 exchange, with Republican Romney criticizing Democrat Obama of being soft on the obstructionism of Vladimir Putin and Obama accusing his opponent of trying to drag America back to the Cold War.
But that was about it in the 90-minute debate for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, reflecting the higher priority that America is placing on economic conflicts with China and the Middle East and Asia, particularly terrorism and managing relations with nations in turmoil, including Syria, Egypt, Iran, Libya and Afghanistan.
Obama and Romney went into their third and final debate tied in the polls. Initial reaction gave the night to Obama, but whether that translates into enough support to win re-election will be known only after the polls close on Nov. 6.
Florida is one of the swing states that each presidential hopeful is trying to convert. While polls show Americans approve of Obama’s handling of foreign policy, John McCain – whom Obama defeated in the 2008 presidential election – spun the Republican case hours before the debate. McCain labeled as “a disaster” Obama’s response to the Sept. 12 murder of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stephens.
When asked about Ukraine, McCain fired off an answer that is sure to please Ukrainian-Americans, who have tended to favor Republicans as being tough on Russia. McCain said: “I am very concerned about the influence of Russia in Ukraine, and I am really worried about the imprisonment of [ex-Prime Minister] Ms. [Yulia] Tymoshenko. I think it’sa terrible travesty.”
The two candidates, however, seemed to stick to their well-prepared talking points during the debate, with little evidence of spontaneity or policy depth.
There was a lot of general talk about who is best prepared to keep America’s defenses strong and defeat threats to the nation. Romney, who spoke first, talked about a “dramatic reversal of the hopes we had” in the Middle East, and immediately attacked Obama for a weak policy in the region – right after congratulating him on killing Osama bin Laden. “But we can’t kill our way out of this mess,” Romney concluded.
Obama responded that now that Al Qaeda was neutralized, the president’s job is to make alliances around the world. When it came to Russia, Obama chided Romney for taking America back to the Cold War by calling Russia the nation’s No. 1 enemy.
“Governor Romney, I’m glad that you
recognize that al-Qaida’s a threat because a few months ago when you were
asked, what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia —
not al-Qaida, you said Russia. And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their
foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years. Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy,
you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the
social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.”
Romney didn’t give much ground on Russia,
coming back later in the debate saying:
“It’s a
geopolitical foe,” Romney countered. “Russia does continue to battle us in the
U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes on this. I’m not going to wear
rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin, and I’m certainly
not going to say to him, I’ll give you more flexibility after the election.
After the election he’ll get more backbone.”
On Poland, Romney chastised Obama for backing away
from a plan by his predecessor, George W. Bush, to locate a missile defense program
in Poland over the strong objects of Russia.
“We have to
also stand by our allies. I think the tension that existed between Israel and
the United States was very unfortunate. I think also that pulling our missile
defense program out of Poland in the way we was also unfortunate in terms of,
if you will, disrupting the relationship in some ways that existed between us,”
Romney said.
Obama attacked Romney’s inexperience, saying: “We need strong, steady leadership, not reckless leadership all over the map,” Obama said. Romney countered a couple of times that “attacking me is not an agenda.”
After Romney said the Navy has fewer ships than in 1917, Obama retorted: “Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets — (laughter) — because the nature of our military’s changed. “This is not a game of battleships, when we’re counting ships, it’s a question of our capabilities,” he said.
Romney frequently sought to return the conversation to the economy, saying that in order to promote peace, democracy and human rights abroad, “America must be strong, wehave to have a strong economy,” he said.
But Obama said Romney’s plan to spend $2 trillion more on defense, plus another $5 trillion in tax cuts, would only add to the nation’s current $16 trillion in debt. The president has said Romney’s economic policies – particularly in taxation — would favor the rich, while hurting the middle-class and poor citizens.
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected]
