The 2012 Presidential Election Debates
Tonight, President Barack Obama and Republican Nominee Mitt Romney meet for the third and final debate.
The general consensus is that Mitt Romney handily won the first debate, while Barack Obama won the second one. Most people feel that Biden won the Vice-Presidential debate in between, although that one traditionally does not matter nearly as much. Since the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee this time is symbolic and had been nominated with the intent of sending a message (particularly to the core of Republicans who were still skeptical about Mitt Romney), this one just might have been a bit different. We shall see.
Not that long ago, it seemed that Obama was pulling away a bit, and that he was on the verge of having the election in the bag. Obviously, those kind of assessments were premature, although who could have foreseen such a poor performance by the President in the first debate? Things tightened up in a hurry after that, and by some estimates, Romney had not only pulled even, but was slightly ahead. One of those polls included the Gallup poll, which showed Romney with a fairly sizable lead, actually.
Yet, if we learned anything from the 2000 elections and each subsequent election after that, what really matters in determining this election will be the battle ground states.
According to CNN polls, there are nine key battleground states to watch. Here are the results:
Virginia - Neck and neck, with Obama perhaps slightly ahead by a point, but that does not cover the margin of error.
Ohio - This is the one that most people have been scrutinizing the most closely, and that both campaigns seem to spending a lot of time and valuable resources in. According to CNN, it looks like Obama has a slight edge of maybe around 49% to 47% for Romney.
Florida - Here, it looks like Romney has gained a lot of ground, following the first debate. he not only has taken the lead, but a fairly sizable one at that. it's not clinched yet, but Florida seems to be going for Romney, as of right now.
Beyond these three states mentioned above, the other states, I noticed, do not have very recent information, and date from before the first debate, even. Still, nevertheless, I will make mention of them.
New Hampshire - I cannot recall what the margin was before the first and second debates, but here, Obama seems to have a sizable lead of around 52% to 43% for Romney, in the outdated poll.
Iowa - In another state that has attracted a lot of press, the President seems to be at slightly over 50%, with Romney still in sight at around 44% or so, in the outdated poll.
Pennsylavania - The President seems to be enjoying a fairly sizable advantage at the moment here, as well, at approximately 52% to 42%, in the outdated poll.
Nevada - Obama has an advantage of maybe 50% to 46% here, in the outdated poll.
Wisconsin - It is safe to presume that Romney picked Ryan specifically in order to help him to win this state.
Colorado - Obama was able to flip this state from red to blue in 2008. It might prove a bit trickier this time.
In the national election, both men are evidently tied at 47% heading into the final debate. So, it's safe to say that the stakes are high tonight for both men.
It's just too close to call right now.
Here are the sites that I got these stats and stories from:
http://www.inquisitr.com/370699/presidential-polls-obama-and-romney-tied-heading-into-final-debate/
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/10/politics/poll.of.polls/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/core_four_states/election_2012_the_core_four_states
In Other News....
Lebanon - There was a bombing in Beirut. The blame has been focused on the Syrian leader, in that war torn country.
Libya - Colonel Gaddafi's former spokesman was captured.
Israel - The Israeli parliament voted to dissolve itself, and will have early elections in January. This follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for early elections after his budget push failed.
Scotland - Preparations for independence are underway, as Scotland seems to be a leading a renewed charge of more localized independent movement sprouting all around Europe.
The European Union - Leaders of the EU agreed to get a banking supervisor to oversee banking throughout the EU, in an effort to stem the possibility of another banking collapse.
Cuba - There are reports that Fidel Castro's health is seriously fading, although the Cuban government has been making a point of countering these claims by showing the former leader with some seeming strength.
Former Yugoslavia - The genocide trial of Bosnian Serb Radovan Karadzic, with particular focus on the genocide accounts in Srebrenica. The court cannot give him the death penalty.
Mauritania - The President of Mauritania was accidentally shot by troops. He survived the shooting, and went on air on the radio to make sure it was understood that it had all been a mistake.
Sports
They did it again! The San Fransisco Giants have pulled themselves out of a 3-1 series deficit to force a deciding Game 7, scheduled to be played later today. That said, there are projections that it is expected to rain in the San Fransisco area today.
In the NBA, Dwight Howard made his preseason debut with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the NFL, the Giants pulled off their first division victory for the season against Washington, moving them up to 5-2, and putting more distance between themselves and their opponents. The Eagles had a bye week, while the Cowboys managed to hold off the Carolina Panthers yesterday. The Jets seemed on the verge of victory in New England yesterday, but the Patriots managed to force overtime, where they eventually won by a field goal. The big showdown between 5-1 teams yesterday ended up being a bust, with the host Houston Texans crushing the Ravens, 43-13. Pittsburgh beat the Bengals on the road, while the Browns fell to the Colts. The Vikings won, beating Arizona, who have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start. The 49ers now are alone in first place at 5-2, having defeated the Seahawks on Thursday night. New Orleans seems to be pulling itself together, finally, as they defeated division rivals Tampa Bay, while the Atlanta Falcons had the weekend off. They remain the league's only unbeaten team at 6-0. The Packers knocked off the Rams in St. Louis, while the Bills lost at home to the Titans in a 35-34 shootout. Oakland defeated Jacksonville, in a battle of one-win teams.
The San Diego Chargers did not play this past weekend, following their crushing defeat to the Denver Broncos last Monday Night. However, they still made headlines, as they are apparently the focus of an inquiry on cheating with some unknown, slippery substance which they might have used. A season that seemed to hold a tremendous amount of promise has taken an obvious turn for the worst, and they seem to be reeling now, with their season rapidly unraveling. It will be interesting to see how they respond.
Also, a fan evidently fell from the escalators and was rushed to the hospital during the Giants-Redskins game yesterday. He is in critical condition, according to reports.
Also, I want to mention that the Rutgers football team came from behind against Temple this Saturday to win, 35-10. They now enjoy an undefeated 7-0 record, and 4-0 within the Big East. They are ranked number 18 in the polls this week. Since Rutgers is my alam mater, I figured that it was worth mentioning!
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