The Final Stretch for Obama and Romney

Tonight’s combatants: Romney & Obama (courtesy of Associated Press)

Tonight is the final debate battle in the race to the presidency for Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. The candidates will meet at Lynne University in Boca Raton, Florida, for a debate focused on foreign policy and moderated by CBS’s Bob Schieffer. And with 15 days left until the election, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Fortunately, there are some bright spots for each candidate, despite most polls showing them neck-in-neck.

President Obama has some clear challenges, like the assault on the American embassy in Libya and the growing unrest in the Middle East, but he certainly has more foreign affairs experience than his opponent. However, he also has some advantage with regard to Latino voters, social issues and the economy, which has been improving, albeit very slowly. As long as Obama doesn’t bomb tonight’s debate like he did in the first one, he has a good chance of picking up some extra votes.

Former governor Romney also has some challenges tonight given both his lack of foreign affairs experience and a number of gaffes in the international realm, most notable in his response to Libya. His job tonight will be to shoot Obama’s record full of holes while also showing how he could be an effective leader on the world stage. Fortunately, more voters seem comfortable with the idea of a Romney presidency, so performing well tonight or even breaking even could be all he needs to make a final push towards the White House.

Regardless of all the fluctuating polls, political propaganda and negative campaign advertising, tonight should be very interesting. I only wish the debate wasn’t scheduled for the same time as the Lions-Bears football game. It looks like another picture-in-picture night for me!

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