Live Blog: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Follow along as we verify, dissect, and add context to the candidates' arguments.
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A worker sets up a television light during preparations for the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
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Both Michelle Obama and Ann Romney are wearing hot pink.by FoxReports via twitter 10/17/2012 12:50:31 AM
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by Twitter Government via twitter 10/17/2012 12:51:08 AM
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Hmm last time Romney was asked about high cost of college, he told the student he should "shop around"by Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:05:00 AM
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Romney had said it would "be easy" for him to promise government money to help pay for school, but he wouldn't do thatby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:05:26 AM
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Does this college kid want a manufacturing job? #Debate2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:07:05 AM
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Obama talking manufacturing jobs, auto bailout, tax code - kitchen sink approach to "answering" first questionby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:07:15 AM
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Best education system in the world? Only need to beat China, India and about 25 other countries.by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:07:38 AM
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Ah, this kid will get an energy job when he graduates. Biofuel major, no doubt. #Debate 2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:08:08 AM
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During the primaries, Newt Gingrich campaigned on promises of $2.50/gal for gas - but analysts say gov has a hard time impacting gas pricesby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:18:02 AM
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Obama reference to Romney ending wind jobs in Iowa is related to his position on cutting wind tax subsidiesby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:25:06 AM
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23 Million Americans Struggling to Find Work
Romney's figure of 23 million Americans struggling to find work is generally correct. Labor Department figures show that about 12 million Americans are officially unemployed, 2.5 million are not looking for work for economic reasons (such as they don't think any jobs are available) and 8.6 million are working part-time because they can’t find a full-time job. That adds up to 23 million. Romney's right on that one.
—Rick Newman -
Romney apparently had to look under the rug in Massachusetts to find women for his cabinetby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:42:09 AM
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But seriously, he's trying to highlight important role women played in his Mass. cabinet and how he understands plight of working womenby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:42:55 AM
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President Obama asserted that Gov. Romney wants to spend $2 trillion more on defense than the military is asking for. The fact of the matter is that President Obama has consistently targeted defense spending since his first budget, prioritizing domestic spending instead. The pressure from the White House was so strong that then-Secretary of Defense Gates said of the pressure on DoD, "that's math, not strategy."
Jamie M. Fly
Executive Director
Foreign Policy Initiative -
Except now this qn is a softball for #Obama - differentiate yourself from GW Bush. Uh, okay. #Debate2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:49:47 AM
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Oil Production Dropped 14 Percent on Federal Lands
U.S. oil production reached a record high in 2011, with the United States producing more than 5 million barrels of oil a day according to the Energy Information Administration. That's up 5 percent from 2010, but according to some critics those gains came from development on private—not public—lands.
According to a report released by the EIA this spring, oil production on federal lands actually dropped 14 percent from around 726 million barrels in 2010 to 626 million barrels in 2011, a decline Romney argues is due to the Obama administration drastically cutting permits for oil and gas exploration on federal lands.
But while Romney might be right in pointing out the decrease in production on public lands, the figure needs more context. The 14 percent drop just represents the past year and doesn't adequately capture the overall trend in domestic oil production, experts say.
Furthermore, the decrease in permitting isn't exclusively due to President Obama's policies as Romney has argued. Instead, "it is the result of decades and policies that have systematically reduced energy production on federal lands," according to CNN.
—Meg Handley -
Man I doubt the questioner was thinking about TRADE POLICY and cheap tires when she asked how are you different from GW Bush. #Debate2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:51:07 AM
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#Obama defends policies of #GW Bush! Oh, the irony. #Debate2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 1:51:30 AM
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Obama takes smart hit on Romney citing GWB support for comprehensive immigration reform (Latino voters critical)by Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:51:50 AM
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And knocks Romney again, saying GWB never proposed cutting all funding for Planned Parenthood (women voters!)by Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 1:52:21 AM
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3 of the top 5 trending @google search queries in the first 20 minutes of the #debate are related to fact checkingby Google Politics via twitter 10/17/2012 1:54:13 AM
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Community Colleges to Retrain Workers
A report released last week from investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica found that while job retraining is one area that both candidates agree will help to create jobs, it may not necessarily help laid off workers find jobs.
The report studied laid-off workers that were retrained at Blackhawk Technical College, a small two-year college in janesville, Wis., and compared them to their laid-off peers who were not retrained. It found that the retrained workers were in fact less able to find jobs than their counterparts.
The report lays out several potential reasons for this—it could be that the best workers chose not to be retrained and instead continued on the job search. It may be that those workers who were not retrained took the available jobs while the other workers were being retrained. Or it could be that there is a lag between retraining and when those retrained workers find jobs.
One expert says that retraining might help, but there is yet another curb that will keep some even well-trained workers in one industry out of the workforce.
"Retraining could help, but the long term trend in manufacturing employment is down, and it will be difficult to reverse, largely as a result of technological improvements that replace workers with machines," says Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board.
—Danielle Kurtzleben -
Do the Numbers Add Up?
It seems appropriate to point out that running a business, or running the Olympics, is completely different from running—or trying to run—the U.S. government. Romney still hasn’t spelled out how he would cut taxes at a time when the national debt is already alarmingly high, without making that problem worse.
By saying, "of course the numbers will add up" then touting his business experience, he's basically saying that he'll run the government the way he has run a business.
To give Romney the benefit of the doubt, here's one scenario in which his tax plan, as he has outlined it so far, might be a starting point for how his plan might lead to some kind of tax reform.
But as they say in the military, no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and nowhere is that more true than in Washington. At a minimum, any tax reform Romney proposed would be thoroughly revised and mutated before it became law, which would most likely take years.
—Rick Newman -
Romney now has said he's not in favor of amnesty for those here, and also not in favor of rounding up all illegals. #sowhatsthesolutionby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 2:07:10 AM
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#Romney looking shaky on this terrorism labeling issue. #Obama winning the Battle of Disgusted Looks.by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 2:17:34 AM
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Another good question, this one on assault weapons. #Debate2012by Rick Newman via twitter 10/17/2012 2:18:05 AM
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Gun control! Lost issue of these debates, this campaign, with the exception of Batman shootingby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 2:18:08 AM
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Just surpassed 3.5 million tweets since the start of the 2nd Presidential Debate. This is more than entire VP Debate last week. #debatesby Twitter Government via twitter 10/17/2012 2:18:09 AM
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Presidential challengers often bash China before assuming office, then the game changesby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 2:28:36 AM
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Obama talks of cutting tax cuts for businesses who invest overseas, last debate Romney said he was unaware of this policyby Rebekah Metzler via twitter 10/17/2012 2:34:35 AM