Transcripts For KGO Nightline 20121023 : vimarsana.com

In new york city, this is a special edition of nightline. One on one, the final president ial debate. Good evening. Im terry moran. Tonight, the highly anticipated final round as president barack obama and republican challenger mitt romney took the stage to go head to head in the last president ial debate. This is a crucial night, and it could tip the scales in a deadlocked race. A final side by sidecomparison with just 15 days left now until the election. And millions of early ballots already being cast, so heres how it all happened in florida tonight. The two men who would be president squared off for the last time in the homestretch of a race that could not be any closer. This time, in boca raton, florida, swing state turf and this time sitting across from one another. You could sense the urgency of the moment. I thought it should have been 5,000 troops. I thought it should have been more troops. But you know what . The answer was we got no troops through whatsoever. And leadership, the real issue in every president ial debate, and tonight president obama launched a direct attack on whether mitt romney is ready to be leader of the free world. Heres one thing ive learned as commander in chief, youve got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand. Romney said obama is simply not demonstrating president ial leadership. Attacking me is not talking about how were going to deal with the challenges that exist in the middle east. Neither one of these candidates ever served in the u. S. Military and that hasnt happened since Franklin Roosevelt faced thomas e. Dewey in 1944. But in this dangerous and uncertain world they tried to outtough each other all night long. Romney accused the president of undermining american strength by not spending enough on defense. Our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. The navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission, we have under 285. Obama brusquely dismissed him as a clueless neophyte in national security. Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. The question is not a game of battleship where were counting ships but what are our capabilities. Romneys overall point, obama has presided over an era of american weakness that began in its first days in office on what romney calls an apology tour. You said that on occasion america had dictated to other nations. Mr. President , america has not dictated to other nations. We have freed other nations from dictators. Obamas response, romney is a shallow and unserious Foreign Policy candidate. If were going to talk about trips that weve taken, when i went to israel as a candidate i didnt take donors, i didnt attend fundraisers, i went to yad vashem. Country after country, crisis after crisis, they slugged it out. Flash point, iran, another war in the middle east. That awful possibility looms over this election. With news breaking over the weekend that the Obama Administration is seeking oneonone talks with iran to avoid war, the Nuclear Standoff dominated part of the debate tonight. The president offered a dramatic contrast. When i came into office, the world was divided. Iran was resurgent. Iran is at its weakest point economically, strategically, militarily than in many years. From the very beginning one of the challenges weve had with iran is that they have looked at this administration and felt that the administration was not as strong as it needed to be. I think they saw weakness. Flash point, iraq, a hugely unpopular war, a strategic blunder. President obama seemed to surprise romney by arguing that he wanted to keep fighting it. And the challenge we have, i know you havent been in a position to actually execute Foreign Policy, but every time youve offered an opinion, youve been wrong. You said we should have gone into iraq, despite the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction. You said that we should still have troops in iraq to this day. Romney struggled to answer. With regards to iraq, you and i agreed, i believe that there should have been a status of forces agreement. Oh, you didnt want a status of forces no, what i would not have done is left 10,000 troops in iraq that would tie us down and that certainly would not help us in the middle east. Im sorry. You actually there was an effort on the part of the president to have a status of forces agreement and i conferred in that and said we should have some number of troops that stayed on. Flash point, Osama Bin Laden and al qaeda. 11 years after the 9 11 attacks, terrorism and how to fight it remains a crucial president ial responsibility in the 21st century. President obama rides high in the polls on this issue for one big reason. Tonight, i can report to the American People and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al qaeda. Tonight, the president practically boasted and slammed romney. When it comes to going after Osama Bin Laden, you said, well, any president would make that call. But when you were a candidate in 2008, as i was, and i said, if i got bin laden in our sights i would take that shot, you said, we shouldnt move heaven and effort to get one man. Mitt romney tried to undermine the president s bin laden triumph with a blunt line. I congratulate him on taking out Osama Bin Laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda, but we cant kill our way out of this mess. We must have a comprehensive strategy to help reject this kind of extremism. At the end both men had probably achieved some of what theyd come to do, project strength, demonstrate competency and get the debate out of the way so they can refocus on domestic issues where this election will be decided. The commander in chief debate although they did debate plenty of domestic issues in there, as well. And just ahead, she moderated the Vice President ial showdown. He helped george w. Bush run his campaign, Martha Raddatz and matt dowd tell us who they think made the grade tonight for a nightline report card. Sometimes life can be well, a little uncomfortable. But when its hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, theres dulcolax stool softener. Dulcolax stool softener doesnt make you go, it just makes it easier to go. Dulcolax stool softener. Make yourself comfortable. Why let erectile dysfunction get in your way . Talk to your doctor about viagra. Ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. 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Well, i think basically because he backed off all his peace and strength. Some of the statement he said you cant kill your way out of this mess. I wondered what mitt romney was talking about from the mitt romney we used to know. A change in persona. A change in persona so maybe not the commander in chief a plus. What do you think . A b. I thought he came across as someone you could see as president of the United States and so that little litmus test he could but didnt come across as strong and assertive as he did in his first debate and let the president become that more which well talk about in a second but i think he could be commander in chief and you could see him as president but nothing overwhe overwhelming. So hes running against the combh but lets grade him. How about obama do on projecting that commander in chief authority. I thought air forcen a minus. A. Youre a tough a. I havent given an a to anyone in this series of debates. I thought it was his best moment and to me the commander in chief test and strong and decisive is the most important thing in the campaign. Why mitt romney rose and in the aftermath of the first debate and i thought the president came across that way. There were a few instances i think he came across a little aggressive but as you watched the debate i think you could see he was clear and could make the decisions you need to make. In that regard i gave him an a. He seemed more confident. He is the commander in chief. Lets just leave it at that. It wasnt quite as hard for him to reach that level of an a or a minus as it was for mitt romney. Why did you give him the a minus. There were a couple of things he said that werent like on the status of forces agreement that he wasnt quite right talking about the fact that mitt romney said he wanted 20,000 troops to remain. President Obamas Administration wanted troops to remain italian, as well. They just were unable to get a status of forces agreement so thats where he got they got stiffed by iraq. Im a hard grader too. You are. So you just raised something. Lets grade them on accuracy in the Foreign Policy debate. How accurate was what they said. Mitt romney. B minus. B. Tough on mitt romney again, why . I just think all these things, its the old adage accurate but not true styes. Things arent exactly right. What didnt you like about what did you find in error or slightly slippery in what romney said. Well, i thought there were a couple of cases when he was talking about syria. When he was talking about we want to keep trying and just want to arm we want to arm some of the rebels but we have to figure out who they are. I just think theres so much nuance in these things. Basically i hate giving these grades because i can tell. Because theres so much nuance in this. Its really hard to give a definitive grade. Matt has no problem with that. He was grading right away. But especially in the Foreign Affairs area. Yeah, i have no problem and saying i made a mistake a day later saying i screwed up. The interesting thing about the debate and sort of saw accuracy as substance on Foreign Policy in the debate i didnt see mitt romney make any distinction with the president of the United States. I thought his strategy was me too. For whatever the president just said, me too but ill do slightly Something Different but i wont say what it is. He said exactly what the president said. Okay, lets give the president a grade on accuracy. Im going with a b minus. Thats back to the status of forces agreement and just the same thing. Its just the nuance. I find myself on those Foreign Policy things and no one else in america is doing this but me. Because you know it so well. Its those tiny things. Your grade. A b. For the same exact reason. There was no real debate on Foreign Policy. No solutions, nothing like that. Who needs solutions, right . Not that you thought it would change next year. Did you didnt watch it, you didnt miss anything. Who is the winner in your judgment . Im not going to say theres a fair winner but i would say overall obama probably scored more points because he goes into this as commander in chief so he walks out there does the job hes done. Mitt romney probably was just showing up and saying, look, im on the same stage as he is. I dont want to make any waves. I dont want to talk about war or scare anybody. Because of barack obama got the commander in chief passing colors i think he won and i think it was fairly clear and fairly decisive. I dont think mitt romney hurt himself but i think barack obama may have helped himself a point or two in the course of the debate by winning this tonight. Romney may have been playing it too safe. A little too soft in this. He became the peace candidate in the course of this debate. Matt, martha, thanks very much. Thats a nightline report card. 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Call 1800ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Read and consider it carefully before investing. Do you cub scribe to hbo . What kind of beer do you drink . Inquiring minds including the president ial campaigns want to know because of something called micro targeting. This is the new frontier in personalized campaigning. It works by finding often baffling correlations between the stuff you like and who youre likely to vote for. Heres abcs john donvan. Are you ready to go . As this tight election heads towards a photo finish in 15 days there are two president ial campaigns taking place. Theres the one you saw tonight on the debate stage. Its also there in the tv ads and the big speeches. But then there is the other campaign, a stealthier one where messages get tailored just for you and are delivered not in front of the tv cameras but right to your mailbox. Theyll have a prediction of the likelihood youre a gun owner so the campaign with can make sure when theyre talking about gun rights theyre sending it to someone who likely owns a gun. Their neighbor will get something else, get something not at all. Reporter called microtargeting sass Sasha Eisenberg brighter of the victory lap. You can have a different conversation with theoretically everyone on the block. Reporter they have to figure out whats important to you. How . Data. Truckloads of it. In the modern world you are leaving trails of information about yourself everywhere you go and the campaigns are buying it up. They use it to build a profile of you. Say you watch 30 rock and drink molson. That means youre probably a democrat that votes frequently. Coors light and watching ncis, odds are you are a loyal republican. How much is it about changing peoples mines versus trying to get people who would vote for you go vote on election day . This is the big change in way campaigns think in the last decade. Its far less about changing peoples minds and far more about modifying their behavior. Reporter guess what, theress an app for that as sasha showed me. They want to knock on the doors and get out the vote, not just any doors. All the data they have and micro targeting algorithms and who they want to interact with. These flags represent each particular house. Reporter who in this neighborhood is most likely to vote for their guy. This is a real map of this street were on. Yes. Reporter these flags represent real houses . Real houses. Reporter like, for instance, whoever lives at this house which were blurring a bit for privacy, the app knows stuff about this person. What do we know. Theres a 73yearold woman, a registered democrat, her name begins with j. Her last name begins with an r. Reporter if theres a knock on the door and an obama or romney volunteer, though know something about you. They know a lot about you and theyve made a whole lot of assumptions about you. Reporter theyre not at your door by accident. No, were way past accidents. Reporter which Means Campaign ads are copping up in the unlikeliest places. Another variable that is helping to predict support, the presence of a teenager in the household and found video games where you can buy ads and boat early vote reminders. Reporter theres no such thing as too narrow a niche. In a mailer to homes in Northern Virginia where there is lyme disease concern, romney said hes against it. Theres nothing to show definitely these tactics put them over the finish line, instead eisenberg says in the end the single most important piece of predictive data isnt what beer you drink but whether youre a registered democrat or republican which is publicly available on the voter roll. All the rest is extra but its a lot. Sos like they have the whole neighborhood and can see into the political soul of people who even now sitting this their houses. Right. Reporter does that seem just a little creepy . The campaigns, even though they have the tools to convey specific messages, the costs of doing it are high. Reporter in other words, when they knock on your door were out here knocking on doors. Reporter just because they found you doesnt mean you have to answer. John donvan, abc news, washington. Big brothers are watching you. Thanks to john donvan, for that thank you for watching abc news. We hope you check in for good morning america. Were always online at abcnews. Com. Jimmy kimmel is coming up next. Well see you here tomorrow