Romney Scores, But was it Enough?

Posted on October 4, 2012. Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Barack Obama, lobbying, Mitt Romney, Presidential Debate, Presidential Election, Turner Government and Public Affairs, Turner GPA |

By Scott Orr

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney went into last night’s debate needing a game changer. He certainly scored points, but was it enough?

The former Massachusetts governor came through with a solid performance against the more experienced President Obama, enough that he easily won instant reaction polls by both CNN and CBS.

Still, there were no gotcha moments, no staggering verbal blows, just clearly articulated statements of Romney’s campaign positions and policy plans. The President was cautious, even defensive at times, a strategy that may have been designed to limit Romney’s chances of scoring big.

Romney scored best when addressing the economy and the impacts of both his and Obama’s plans on the middle class, an area in which he has fared poorly to date.

He said his plan, not Obama’s, will do the most to help those in the middle and he denied Obama’s claim that it will help only the wealthy.

Obama, meanwhile, attacked Romney’s tax cut plans as a bonus for the rich, a $5 billion blow to the federal budget that cannot be made up through the elimination of deductions and closing loopholes. “I think math, common sense and our history shows us that’s not a recipe for job growth,” Obama said.

But Romney said it’s the president’s math that is wrong and denied that his plan benefits the rich at the expense of the middle class. He said the ultimate goal of his tax cut plan is to create jobs, an area he said Obama neglected.

“I just don’t know how the president could have come into office, facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, an economic crisis at the — at the kitchen table, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for Obamacare instead of fighting for jobs for the American people,” Romney said.

Obama, meanwhile, defended his record.

“Over the last 30 months, we’ve seen 5 million jobs in the private sector created. The auto industry has come roaring back. And housing has begun to rise. But we all know that we’ve still got a lot of work to do. And so the question here tonight is not where we’ve been but where we’re going,” he said.

After the debate, predictably, partisan backers of both men claimed victory as they always do. It’s difficult to gauge these things of course, with the ultimate scorekeepers sitting at home in key battleground states like Ohio, Florida and Virginia.

Romney was clearly the aggressor and his performance may cause some voters to reconsider his candidacy. A come from behind win could be in sight for the Republican, but he still needs a few more points.

Turner GPA is a leading D.C.-based national lobbying and government affairs firm dedicated to delivering cutting edge policy advocacy for the manufacturing, defense, aerospace, health and energy industries. Members of our professional policy team can be reached at (202) 466-2511. We are also on the Web at www.turnergpa.com.