President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will meet for their third and final debate Monday night, discussing foreign policy at a moment when Romney has almost erased the president’s long-standing advantage on the subject.
The 90-minute debate will begin at 9 p.m. at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. The two candidates are likely to renew arguments over Obama’s handling of Iran, China, the civil war in Syria, and the attack in Libya that killed four Americans last month.
[h=2]Live at 9 p.m.: Watch the debate[/h]THE GRID | Get streaming video, real-time analysis, fact checking and instant reaction from readers to candidates' remarks.
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For both, this could be their last best chance to break a close race open.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll, out Monday, showed that Obama and Romney are effectively tied, with Obama leading by just one percentage point among likely voters, 49 percent to 48 percent.
The poll shows that Romney has gained significantly on the subjects of international affairs generally, and handling terrorism specifically. At the end of September, Obama held an 11 -point lead over Romney as the candidate voters trusted on terrorism.
But now, 47 percent side with Obama on the issue, 46 percent with Romney.
Monday’s debate will face unusually heavy competition for TV viewers. On the same evening, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears will face off on Monday Night Football, and the Saint Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will play game seven of baseball’s National League Championship Series.
But the debate itself could make for unusually good television: in the first two debates, foreign-policy questions produced some of the sharpest exchanges between the two men.
In last week’s debate, Romney sought to attack Obama for taking two weeks to label the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya an “act of terror.”
But Romney over-reached, and he was corrected by moderator Candy Crowley, in one of the debate’s most memorable moments. Although Obama did not directly call the attack terrorism the next day, he did say that the United States will not retreat from “acts of terror.”
Lost in that exchange, however, was the fact that Obama had effectively dodged a question about his handling of the Benghazi incident. The issue is very likely to come up again in much more depth on Monday night.
The debate’s agenda, from moderator Bob Schieffer, lists topics including “America’s role in the world,” Israel and Iran, terrorism and China. There will be six segments of 15 minutes each, with both candidates seated at a table with Schieffer.
Ahead of the debate, Obama’s campaign released a new online ad touting the president’s efforts to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. “It’s time to stop fighting over there, and start rebuilding here,” the ad says. It attacks Romney for opposing the withdrawals.
The Romney campaign released an online ad that attacked Obama’s foreign policy as weak and yielding. The ad highlighted rising violence in the Middle East, intransigence by Russia, and Iran’s threat to Israel. “The world can’t afford four more years,” the ad says.
On China, the two candidates have both previously pledged to get tough in fighting unfair trade practices. But a close look at the men’s records show they are not actually that different: Obama and Romney have both acted as centrists, with little appetite for drastic measures that might upend a valuable trading relationship.
As the debate neared, the two candidates went through their “debate prep” rituals for the last time.
In Obama’s camp, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) got a round of applause on Sunday night, after he played Romney in one final session. Obama did one last session at Camp David the next morning, then flew to Florida.
After spending time with close friends Marty Nesbitt and Mike Ramos, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will sit down to a dinner of steak and potatoes, according to a campaign aide. It’s the same routine Obama followed for last week’s second debate with Romney, where he came back from his poor showing in the first debate and was declared a narrow winner in polls.
Romney did a walk-through at the debate site with Lynn University officials Monday afternoon.
Markon reported from Boca Raton, Fla.
The 90-minute debate will begin at 9 p.m. at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. The two candidates are likely to renew arguments over Obama’s handling of Iran, China, the civil war in Syria, and the attack in Libya that killed four Americans last month.
[h=2]Live at 9 p.m.: Watch the debate[/h]THE GRID | Get streaming video, real-time analysis, fact checking and instant reaction from readers to candidates' remarks.More from PostPolitics
Jon Cohen and Scott Clement THE FIX | President Obama and Mitt Romney head into the final debate still deadlocked among likely voters.
Josh Hicks FACT CHECKER | An Obama ad challenges Romney’s growing support among women voters.
Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake THE FIX | We analyze the choicest bits from the latest NBC-WSJ poll so you don't have to.
For both, this could be their last best chance to break a close race open.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll, out Monday, showed that Obama and Romney are effectively tied, with Obama leading by just one percentage point among likely voters, 49 percent to 48 percent.
The poll shows that Romney has gained significantly on the subjects of international affairs generally, and handling terrorism specifically. At the end of September, Obama held an 11 -point lead over Romney as the candidate voters trusted on terrorism.
But now, 47 percent side with Obama on the issue, 46 percent with Romney.
Monday’s debate will face unusually heavy competition for TV viewers. On the same evening, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears will face off on Monday Night Football, and the Saint Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will play game seven of baseball’s National League Championship Series.
But the debate itself could make for unusually good television: in the first two debates, foreign-policy questions produced some of the sharpest exchanges between the two men.
In last week’s debate, Romney sought to attack Obama for taking two weeks to label the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya an “act of terror.”
But Romney over-reached, and he was corrected by moderator Candy Crowley, in one of the debate’s most memorable moments. Although Obama did not directly call the attack terrorism the next day, he did say that the United States will not retreat from “acts of terror.”
Lost in that exchange, however, was the fact that Obama had effectively dodged a question about his handling of the Benghazi incident. The issue is very likely to come up again in much more depth on Monday night.
The debate’s agenda, from moderator Bob Schieffer, lists topics including “America’s role in the world,” Israel and Iran, terrorism and China. There will be six segments of 15 minutes each, with both candidates seated at a table with Schieffer.
Ahead of the debate, Obama’s campaign released a new online ad touting the president’s efforts to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. “It’s time to stop fighting over there, and start rebuilding here,” the ad says. It attacks Romney for opposing the withdrawals.
The Romney campaign released an online ad that attacked Obama’s foreign policy as weak and yielding. The ad highlighted rising violence in the Middle East, intransigence by Russia, and Iran’s threat to Israel. “The world can’t afford four more years,” the ad says.
On China, the two candidates have both previously pledged to get tough in fighting unfair trade practices. But a close look at the men’s records show they are not actually that different: Obama and Romney have both acted as centrists, with little appetite for drastic measures that might upend a valuable trading relationship.
As the debate neared, the two candidates went through their “debate prep” rituals for the last time.
In Obama’s camp, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) got a round of applause on Sunday night, after he played Romney in one final session. Obama did one last session at Camp David the next morning, then flew to Florida.
After spending time with close friends Marty Nesbitt and Mike Ramos, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will sit down to a dinner of steak and potatoes, according to a campaign aide. It’s the same routine Obama followed for last week’s second debate with Romney, where he came back from his poor showing in the first debate and was declared a narrow winner in polls.
Romney did a walk-through at the debate site with Lynn University officials Monday afternoon.
Markon reported from Boca Raton, Fla.