The starting gun has been fired. The competitors bolted out of the starting blocks. The Presidential Debate has begun. The race to become the next President of The United States is very close. The current champion, Barack Obama, must perform at his peak in order to win against newcomer Mitt Romney.
Both Obama and Romney have experience in this type of competition. Obama won this same race four years ago. Romney has never won this particular race, but he has experience at the state level. Some tough hurdles were thrown in the path of the candidates, including questions about creating new jobs, cutting the deficit, entitlement, and the role of government.
President Obama tried to win over the hearts of the crowd by wishing his wife a happy 20th anniversary before attempting to jump any hurdles. This may have made him appear sweet, but Romney took the lead while Obama made his appeal to the people. Romney followed the track to the future, laying out his plan to create new jobs in five steps. President Obama seemed to be running backwards, talking only about what he had done in the past four years, not what he plans to do in the future.
The President talked about Romney’s strategy to win the race, mentioning things such as a five trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy, adding two trillion dollars to military spending, and comparing his strategy to what was tried in 2001 and 2003. Obama attempted to trip his opponent, but ended up only hurting himself. Romney rejected these accusations, saying that he does not have any tax cuts in place and that his plan is unlike anything that has been tried before.
Romney was staring down his opponent throughout the entire race, while Obama addressed the public. While they both claim to want to use more green energy, create more jobs, and make healthcare cheaper, Romney’s path seems better for America to follow. Obama is still running on the same track that he used to win four years ago. As Romney pointed out, Obama has had four years to make the changes that he is still promising to make. People may still consider this to be a close race, but the prize for America looks better if Romney wins. America needs a new leader to run on a new track.
By: Lauren Keyser