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Tonight's Presidential Debate: Who Will Clinch the Final Face Off?

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

For the third and final time, U.S. President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will take center stage and face off tonight, with the showdown set for Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

With the two candidates running neck-and-neck - a fresh NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows President Obama and Romney tied at 47% -- and just 15 days until Americans cast their ballots for our 45th U.S. president, a stellar showing is imperative. Whoever wins Monday's debate will have the upper hand heading into Election Day.

More than 60 million viewers tuned in to the first two debates which dealt with jobs, healthcare, the economy, and taxes. Romney handily won the first debate in Denver on Oct. 3 and charmed hordes of undecided voters. Then the president, who appeared glum and uninterested the first time around, came on strong in the second debate Oct. 16.

Monday's debate will be focused on foreign policy and national security. Divided into six segments, President Obama and Romney will discuss America's position as a global leader, the Afghanistan war, the Middle East, Israel and Iran, and China's explosive rise.

President Obama, as head of U.S. national security for the last four years, has experience Romney can't rival. The president will underscore how under his term he was instrumental in the mission that led to the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. He will also note that he pulled troops from Iraq.

Romney has his work cut out for him.

His summer trips to London, Jerusalem and Poland were highlighted by several gaffes. The former Massachusetts governor needs to assure voters that he is a capable leader in the global arena by highlighting his leadership abilities.

"Many voters are ready to fire President Obama if they see Romney as an acceptable alternative. Foreign policy has not been a big driver of this campaign but I think Romney could add some icing to his cake if people say, "Hey, this guy is on top of world affairs,'" David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Center at Southern Illinois University told Reuters.

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Tonight's VP Debate: Can Ryan Counter-Punch Biden's Jabs?

By , Money Morning -

If tonight's vice-presidential (VP) debate were a boxing match it would be expected to go all 12 rounds.

Squaring off at 9 p.m. EDT in Danville, Kentucky are Vice-President Joe Biden and vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan, in their first and only debate.

After the shellacking Mitt Romney gave President Obama in the first presidential debate many political experts are expecting Biden to come out on the offensive in an attempt to regain some of the president's lost ground.

Paul Ryan, in his first national debate, knows that Biden is looking to attack where the president did not. As the Chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan should be ready to defend his running mate and continue the attack on the president. Expect Ryan to focus on the economy, specifically federal debt, unemployment and job creation.

"I'd be surprised if there weren't far more fireworks in this debate than there were in the first presidential debate," University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer told Reuters.

While the debate will focus on domestic and foreign policies, here are other things you should watch for.

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Tonight's Presidential Debate: Time to Talk Economics

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

Tonight's presidential debate will be the first time incumbent President Barack Obama squares off against GOP challenger Mitt Romney, in a race that's still too close to predict.

According to a trio of national polls published Monday, the two candidates are running neck-and-neck ahead of tonight's presidential debate. The results show just three percentage points separate the two.

This first of three sessions focuses on domestic policy. It's divided into six 15-minute segments; the first three focus on the economy, then healthcare, the role of government, and governing.

While many political analysts say Romney's chances hinge on his performance tonight, President Obama doesn't have enough of a lead to sit comfortably.

Following are some key issues that each much address and explain in the first debate of Election 2012.

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Election 2012: Five Tough Questions That Need to be Asked at Tonight's Debate

By , Global Investing Specialist, Money Morning -

I hate to break it to Ben Affleck, but he is wrong about the election. With just 34 days left until voters head to the polls, the election 2012 race is still completely up for grabs.

Even still, in a recent interview with the AP, Affleck lumped Romney comfortably in with the likes of such memorable losers as Michael Dukakis, Al Gore and Bob Dole.

However, a recent a poll released by Rasmussen yesterday would seem to suggest this contest is far from over.

According to the survey, President Obama only leads Mitt Romney by a razor slim advantage of 48% to 47%--well within the margin of error.

That makes tonight's presidential debates in Denver all the more critical for both candidates-especially since they will be devoted primarily to the economy and domestic policy.

Of course, here at Money Morning we have our own ideas on how the economy ought to be run, and a few questions of our own for each of tonight's debaters.

But we'll bet most of the tough questions will be completely missed by the media, who have an altogether-too-exalted an idea of the candidates' competence.

With that in mind, here are five questions that should get asked at tonight's debate-but won't.

Five Questions About the Economy That Beg To Be Answered

  1. Mr. President, Governor, study after study has shown that the healthcare system in this country is absorbing a larger and larger share of our Gross Domestic Product, and will bankrupt us all by 2050. Yet neither of you has any reliable plans to deal with this.
    2. Mr. President, your Obamacare makes matters worse. Governor, your Romneycare in Massachusetts has also run wildly over budget and your Vice President's plan loads most medical cost increases onto individuals who get sick.

    Other countries cope with medical cost inflation better than us; which of their schemes should we adopt?

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