Viewer - Live updates: Obama, Romney face off in 3rd debate

Live updates: Obama, Romney face off in ...

Monday October 22, 2012

8:30

Mandy Hofmockel:

Join MassLive.com for live updates during the third and final presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 9 p.m. The debate, which will be moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS, is slated to last 90 minutes and focus on foreign policy.

Monday October 22, 2012 8:30 Mandy Hofmockel

8:34

Mandy Hofmockel:

For a preview of the debate, check out some of our earlier coverage, including this Associated Press post on "five things to watch for" throughout the event and an opinion piece by political analyst Anthony Cignoli on what to expect.

Monday October 22, 2012 8:34 Mandy Hofmockel

8:52	During tonight's foreign policy debate, which country do you most want the candidates to talk about? China ( 100% ) Iran ( 0% ) Afghanistan ( 0% ) North Korea ( 0% ) Iraq ( 0% ) Israel ( 0% ) Monday October 22, 2012 8:52

8:56

Mandy Hofmockel:

Bob Schieffer addressed the audience at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. The candidates should take the stage shortly.

Monday October 22, 2012 8:56 Mandy Hofmockel

9:01

Mandy Hofmockel:

Join in on tonight's live chat by submitting your questions and comments in the box below.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:01 Mandy Hofmockel

9:02

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama and Romney take to the stage to audience applause and take their seats.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:02 Mandy Hofmockel

9:04

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer first asks the candidates to discuss Libya.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:04 Mandy Hofmockel

9:06

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: With the Arab Spring came a great deal of hope. But instead we've seen a number of disturbing events. In Libya, we've seen an attack of terrorists of some kind. We're seeing a pretty dramatic reversal in the hopes we had for that region. We can't kill our way out of this mess.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:06 Mandy Hofmockel

9:06

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We must have a comprehensive strategy to reject this kind of extremism.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:06 Mandy Hofmockel

9:09

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: On Libya, we will go after those who attacked Americans and we will bring them to justice. Despite this tragedy, you have tens of thousands of Libyans marching and saying America is our friend. Romney's strategy has been all over the map.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:09 Mandy Hofmockel

9:10

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We have to help these nations create civil societies. We want to make sure we see progress throughout the Middle East.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:10 Mandy Hofmockel

9:12

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Romney said recently that Russia was a threat to the U.S. Just a few weeks ago you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. You indicated that we shouldn't be passing nuclear treaties with Russia.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:12 Mandy Hofmockel

9:15

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: Russia I indicated is a geopolitical foe.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:15 Mandy Hofmockel

9:16

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Part of American leadership is making sure that we're doing nation building here at home.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:16 Mandy Hofmockel

9:16

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: Should we reassess our policy on Syria?

Monday October 22, 2012 9:16 Mandy Hofmockel

9:17

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Syrians are going to have to determine their own future. We're coordinating with other countries in the region. For us to get more entangled militarily in Syria is a serious step.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:17 Mandy Hofmockel

9:20

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: Syria is an opportunity for us. We don't want to get drawn into a military conflict. We do need to make sure that we coordinate our efforts with our allies. We need to have a very effective leadership effort in Syria. I believe that Assad must go. I believe that he will go.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:20 Mandy Hofmockel

9:22

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: We are mobilizing humanitarian support. We have to take the same kind of serious thoughtful leadership we used in Libya in Syria.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:22 Mandy Hofmockel

9:23

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We need to make sure the opposition in Syria have the arms they need.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:23 Mandy Hofmockel

9:26

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Egypt has to abide by their treaty with Israel. One of the things we've been doing is organizing entrepreneurship conferences with Egyptians so they can see additional opportunities.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:26 Mandy Hofmockel

9:28

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I wish we'd have had a better vision for the future in Egypt. More broadly on foreign policy, for us to be able to promote principles of peace abroad, we have to be strong. Our economy has to be strong. We need to have a strong military.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:28 Mandy Hofmockel

9:28

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: What is America's role in the world?

Monday October 22, 2012 9:28 Mandy Hofmockel

9:30

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I absolutely believe America has the responsibility and privilege to promote the principles of freedom around the world. In order to fulfill our role in the world we have to have a strong economy and a strong military.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:30 Mandy Hofmockel

9:32

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: America is stronger now than when I came into office. Our alliances have never been stronger in Asia, in Europe, in Africa. We need to position ourselves so we can rebuild America. We need to make sure we have the best education system in the world.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:32 Mandy Hofmockel

9:35

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We are going to have North American energy independence. We're going to work on trade. Latin America is a huge opportunity for us. We're gonna have to get to a balanced budget. We've got to champion small business.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:35 Mandy Hofmockel

9:37

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Under my leadership, we've seen progress and gains in schools that weren't making progress. If you talk to teachers, they will tell you class sizes make a difference.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:37 Mandy Hofmockel

9:38

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: In Mass. we kept our schools No. 1 in the nation and they're still No. 1 today.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:38 Mandy Hofmockel

9:40

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We're gonna cut about five percent of the discretionary budget, excluding the military. We take program after program that we don't absolutely have to have and we get rid of them.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:40 Mandy Hofmockel

9:41

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Romney's called for five trillion in tax cuts. We spend more on our military than the next 10 countries combined. What you can't do is spend an additional two trillion in military spending plus the five trillion in tax cuts. The math just doesn't work.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:41 Mandy Hofmockel

9:43

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I'm going to be able to balance the budget. The Navy is smaller now than it's been since the early 1900s. I will not cut our military budget by a trillion dollars.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:43 Mandy Hofmockel

9:45

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: We don't have the same military needs that we did decades ago.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:45 Mandy Hofmockel

9:45

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: Would either of you be willing to say an attack on Israel is an attack on America?

Monday October 22, 2012 9:45 Mandy Hofmockel

9:47

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: If Israel is attacked, I will stand with Israel. As long as I am president, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. We've got the strongest sanctions on Iran. Their economy is in shambles.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:47 Mandy Hofmockel

9:47

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: During the course of this campaign, Romney's said we should take premature military action.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:47 Mandy Hofmockel

9:49

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: If Israel is attacked, we will stand with them. A nuclear capable Iran is unacceptable. I'd have put crippling sanctions on Iran in place earlier. I would tighten those sanctions further.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:49 Mandy Hofmockel

9:50

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: Of course a military action is the last resort.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:50 Mandy Hofmockel

9:51

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: The deal we'll accept is that Iran ends their nuclear program. The work involved in setting up these crippling sanctions is painstaking. It's meticulous.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:51 Mandy Hofmockel

9:52	Who is winning the debate so far? Mitt Romney ( 50% ) Barack Obama ( 50% ) Monday October 22, 2012 9:52

9:54

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I think Iran saw weakness where they expected to see American strength. I think that when the president said he'd create daylight between America and Israel I think they noticed that. It's essential for a president to show strength. Sanctions against Iran need to be tighter.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:54 Mandy Hofmockel

9:56

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: When it comes to tightening sanctions, we've put in the tightest, most crippling sanctions ever.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:56 Mandy Hofmockel

9:57

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We're four years closer to a nuclear Iran. Obama went to the Middle East and then in those nations you said America had been dismissive and derisive.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:57 Mandy Hofmockel

9:58

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: The central question at this point is who is going to be credible to all parties involved. They can look at my track record.

Monday October 22, 2012 9:58 Mandy Hofmockel

9:59

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: What if the prime minister of Israel called and said our bombers are on the way to Iran?

Monday October 22, 2012 9:59 Mandy Hofmockel

10:00

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: Let's not get into hypotheticals of that nature. Our first notice wouldn't be a phone call like that.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:00 Mandy Hofmockel

10:01

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: The problem is that on a whole range of issues, Romney's been all over the map.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:01 Mandy Hofmockel

10:03

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: If we'd have asked Pakistan for permission to kill Osama bin Landen, we wouldn't have gotten him. You said in the past that you wouldn't move heaven and earth to get him.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:03 Mandy Hofmockel

10:04

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: What do you do if the deadline arrives and it is obvious the Afghans can't handle their own security?

Monday October 22, 2012 10:04 Mandy Hofmockel

10:05

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We're going to be able to make our transition by the end of 2014, and our troops will come home by that time.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:05 Mandy Hofmockel

10:06

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: A Pakistan that falls apart and becomes a failed state is going to be dangerous to Afghanistan and to us.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:06 Mandy Hofmockel

10:08

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: We ended the war in Iraq and refocused our attention on Afghanistan. We went to Afghanistan because there were people who were responsible for 3,000 American deaths. The transition has to take place in a responsible fashion. After a decade of war, it's time now to do some nation building at home.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:08 Mandy Hofmockel

10:09

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: Is it time for us to divorce Pakistan?

Monday October 22, 2012 10:09 Mandy Hofmockel

10:11

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: No. It's a nation that's not like others. This is a nation, which if it falls apart, there are nuclear weapons there, and there are terrorists there who could get those nuclear weapons.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:11 Mandy Hofmockel

10:11

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: We can't just walk away from Pakistan.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:11 Mandy Hofmockel

10:11

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: What is your position on the use of drones?

Monday October 22, 2012 10:11 Mandy Hofmockel

10:12

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I believe that we should continue to use drones. We're going to have to do more than just going after leaders and killing bad guys. We have not seen the progress we need to have.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:12 Mandy Hofmockel

10:14

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: Our strategy wasn't just going after bin Laden. Americans should be proud that when Tunisians began to protest, we stood with them.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:14 Mandy Hofmockel

10:16

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: My attitude coming into office is we are going to insist that China play by the same rules as everybody else. We have brought more cases against China for violating trade terms than the previous administration had done in two terms.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:16 Mandy Hofmockel

10:18

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: The greatest threat that the world faces is a nuclear Iran.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:18 Mandy Hofmockel

10:19

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: If I'm president, America will be very strong. On day one I will label China a currency manipulator. They have to understand ... you gotta play by the rules.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:19 Mandy Hofmockel

10:21

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: There's a silent trade war going on with China. China can't keep holding down the value of their currency. I want a great relationship with China. They can't steal our jobs on an unfair basis.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:21 Mandy Hofmockel

10:23

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: If we're not making investments in education and basic research, then we will lose the lead in things like clean energy technology. We believe China can be a partner.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:23 Mandy Hofmockel

10:25

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I like American cars. I would do nothing to hurt the American car companies. Under no circumstances would I have done anything other than help the industry.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:25 Mandy Hofmockel

10:28

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: I think anybody out there can check the record. Romney was very clear. He would not provide government assistance to auto companies. Cutting our education budget is not a smart choice, that will not help us compete with China. We can't go back to the same policies that got us here in the first place.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:28 Mandy Hofmockel

10:29

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: More people are on food stamps, and the deficit is higher than it was when you took office.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:29 Mandy Hofmockel

10:31

Mandy Hofmockel:

Obama: You've got a choice. Over the last four years we made real progress. Romney wants to take us back to previous policies. I want to control our own energy by developing oil and natural gas but also by developing the energy of the future. I think we all realize that we need to do some nation building at home.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:31 Mandy Hofmockel

10:33

Mandy Hofmockel:

Romney: I'm optimistic about the future. I want to see peace. I also want to make sure that we get this economy going. I'll get us on track to a balanced budget. I'll get people back to work. I'll make sure we get people off food stamps. Washington is broken. I know what it takes to get it back. We need strong leadership.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:33 Mandy Hofmockel

10:34

Mandy Hofmockel:

Schieffer: That brings this debate to an end. I leave you with the words of my Mom, "Go vote. It makes you feel big and strong."

Monday October 22, 2012 10:34 Mandy Hofmockel

10:35

Mandy Hofmockel:

And that brings the third and final debate to a close. The candidates' families join them on stage.

Monday October 22, 2012 10:35 Mandy Hofmockel

10:36

Mandy Hofmockel:

Thank you for tuning in for these live updates. For continued coverage, check www.masslive.com/politics.