Alabama Politicos React to Debate on Twitter

The third and final presidential debate of the 2012 general election is in the bag. Obama and Romney traded blows on foreign policy Monday night, but neither rose above the other to claim a decisive victory.

It’s nearly impossible to compete with a sitting president on national security issues. The president gets a daily national security briefing (when he shows up for it), and is forced to immerse himself in geopolitical issues. That’s an undeniable advantage. But in spite of the steep learning curve, Romney showed a mastery of complex foreign policy issues and held the president to account for his failed record on a wide range of issues including Israel, Libya, Iran, the broader middle east, Russia and more.

Romney’s strategy was much more restrained than we’ve seen him in the past two debates, a clear indication that his campaign believes he is in control of the race. He simply needed to appear intimately familiar with the issues and show that he could hold his own on the world stage — and avoid any major gaffes. He succeeded. Obama on the other hand was on the attack, realizing that the fate of his presidency may depend on a knockout punch delivered the final time he and Romney will appear side-by-side before election day. He landed some blows but didn’t deliver any lines that will tilt the election.

Bob Schieffer got mostly solid revues from folks on both sides of the aisle and clearly set himself apart from previous debate moderators as the class of this year’s crew. Then again, that’s not exactly saying a lot.

It’s often been said that debates rarely make a real difference in the election. But if Romney can hold on to unseat the President, this year will clearly be the exception. The first debate turned the race on its head and may propel Romney into the White House.

We can now look forward to an all-out ad-blitz from now til election day.

As usual, Alabama politicos took to Twitter throughout last night’s debate to share their thoughts and reactions in real-time. Are there any tweets missing that should be featured in this story? Send them HERE. or tweet us @YHPolitics.