Talking Points Memo: The Best and Weakest Moments of the Second Presidential Debate
Bill O’Reilly is keeping his assessment of the second presidential debate at Hofstra University “real simple.” In his Talking Points Memo, O’Reilly said, “Last night President Obama helped his cause but he did not damage Mitt Romney, who held his own.”
O’Reilly identified Romney’s best debate moment to be when the candidate addressed that President Obama has failed to cut the deficit in half. President Obama’s best moment came at the end of the debate, when he finally brought up Romney’s 47 percent comment, in which Romney implied that Americans who support the president are not self-reliant. The Factor host said that the president sneakily
but effectively incorporated that issue into his closing statements, to which Romney could not reply.
On the negative side, when Romney went head-to-head with the president over his energy policy, O’Reilly observed that Romney did not appear presidential. Instead of questioning the president directly, O’Reilly said, “[Romney] simply should have presented the facts, and let the chips fall.”
Related Links:
- DEBATE QUOTE: Romney Questions Obama: ‘You Said Libya Attack Was an Act of Terror in the Rose Garden?’
- TRANSCRIPT: Read President Obama’s Remarks on American Deaths in Libya Attack
- RECAP: 90 Seconds of Candy Crowley Trying to Rein In Candidates During Debate
- DEBATE QUOTE: President Obama on Libya – “I Am Ultimately Responsible”
One of President Obama’s weakest moments was when he said that the price of gas was lower when he took office because of the bad economy. “Are you kidding me?” O’Reilly remarked, “[…] If that’s the reason, why has the price at the pump risen so much?”
Another weak moment was when President Obama dodged answering a question on the U.S. Consulate attack in Libya, said O’Reilly. The person who “totally blew it” during the debate was moderator Candy Crowley, when she interjected to say that President Obama called the Libya attack an “act of terror.” O’Reilly said she helped the president when she should’ve stayed neutral.
He added, “The president did not, did not specifically call the murder of the American ambassador in Libya a terrorist attack. In the Rose Garden he was speaking generically about the nation not giving into terrorism, no matter what form it takes. Ms. Crowley did not make that clear.”
With the third debate taking place next Monday, O'Reilly predicts that anything can happen in this very intense race.
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