Obama, Romney Expected to Have Spirited Third Debate

President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney head into the third and final presidential debate with a win each in previous debates and polls showing them in a statistical dead heat. Deborah Gembara reports.

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7 months ago

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US

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United States, US Politics

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Barack Obama, Mitt Romney

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United States of America

Transcript

If this exchange on Libya from the second presidential debate is any indication (NATO Pop of clashes from Second debate) Americans can expect a spirited exchange when Mitt Romney and Barack Obama meet for their final presidential debate. Each candidate, say analysts, will have a different challenge in the third debate where the focus will be on foreign policy. John Hudak, Brookings Institution. SOUNDBITE: John Hudak of the Brookings Institution saying: "For Governor Romney, foreign policy is going to be the hardest area for him to fake it. This is the most difficult area for someone who doesn't deal with these issues every day." For Obama, it will be explaining why known security issues at the U.S. embassy in Benghazi weren't addressed before the attack that killed four Americans including the ambassador. SOUNDBITE: Scott Mesker, voter saying: "What I'd like to hear from Obama is the truth. For several weeks he came out and was trying to hide behind some facts and I am really concerned, especially because he attacked our first amendment right to freedom of speech with people being able to actually express themselves through videos and movies and he hid behind that rather than the actual truth of what happened in the terrorist attack." SOUND Sabrina Marzaro, Voter, Saying: "Right now obviously there has been a lot of debate about the entire situation in Libya and I think the idea of transparency is very important." Ahead of the debate, both men have been sharpening their attacks. SOUNDBITE: U.S. Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney saying: "Hope is not a strategy. We can't support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut. SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama saying: "Perhaps some of you guys remember, after my foreign trip in 2008, I was attacked as a celebrity because I was so popular with my allies overseas. I have to say I am impressed with how Governor Romney has avoided that problem." China says Hudak could be a factor in key battleground states. SOUNDBITE: John Hudak of the Brookings Institution saying: "People with blue-collared jobs and people who have struggled even during the recovery, they see China, not just as a geopolitical threat. They really see China as an economic threat. SOUNDBITE: U.S. Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney saying: "One thing I will do on day one is label China a currency manipulator. They must not steal jobs in an unfair way." SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama saying: "He's been talking tough on China. He says he's going to take the fight to them; he's going to go after these cheaters. And I've got to admit, that message is the better -- is better than what he's actually done about this thing." Both men head into round three with one debate win each and polls showing the race to be a statistical dead heat.