Last night was the last presidential debate of 2012. Here’s the full transcript, and the full video,
Heritage Experts Analyze Final Presidential Debate, and they discuss
- Cutting the Defense Budget
- The Navy and Number of Ships Needed
- Defense Readiness Is Key to America’s Role in the World
- Jobs on the Home Front
- Federal Pay for Education Employees Won’t Create Jobs
- The U.S. Place in the World
My two cents:
- Obama doesn’t understand the difference between Chapter 11 bankruptcy and total liquidation; Romney does.
- Romney is the one who’s aware of opportunities in Latin America,
Number two, we’re going to increase our trade. Trade grows about 12 percent year. It doubles about every — every five or so years. We can do better than that, particularly in Latin America. The opportunities for us in Latin America we have just not taken advantage of fully. As a matter of fact, Latin America’s economy is almost as big as the economy of China. We’re all focused on China. Latin America is a huge opportunity for us — time zone, language opportunities.
Obama let that one fly right by, as his administration blissfully ignores our hemisphere.
- No one brought up the European Union (Greece, yes).
- Iran’s hyperinflation situation was not mentioned; it may, however, prove to be a critical factor on the regime’s viability. Iran was the country most mentioned during the debate.
- Obama demanded sequestration as part of the budget deal. Oh yeah.
- Obama came across as “snarky, condescending, peevish, & small.”
Obama landed a punch on himself,Which brings us to the title of this post, Bayonets, horses, and boats. First, the boats:
Contrary to the president’s assertion, the creation of aircraft carriers and submarines did not mean that we needed fewer ships. Quite the contrary. Aircraft carriers need just as many if not more supporting vessels than the obsolete battleships that no are no longer under commission. So do subs. The decline in naval strength compromises America’s ability to project power abroad. That is particularly true in places like the Persian Gulf, where President Obama is trying to sound as tough with Iran as Romney.
Even more foolish is the president’s attempt to portray contemporary naval vessels with cavalry horses. That says more about his own lack of understanding of the military than Romney’s. It also may cost him some votes in a state that he still hopes to win: Virginia, home of the largest U.S. Naval base in the country and hotbed of support for a stronger military.
Submarines are boats, not ships,
Today, though only DSRV’s and ROV’s require a support vessel for operations, independent submarines are still referred to as boats not only due to the historical term, but the fact that they still require support from a Submarine Tender while in homeport for repairs and maintenance the crew cannot perform.
And, finally, the bayonets,
