Mostly, on foreign policy these guys agreed, especially on the key issue:
They'd both rather talk about domestic issues.
Obama summed it up nicely when he said Romney said the same things, but said them louder.
I swear I heard Romney advocating that we "lead from behind" in Syria.
The major difference was temperament. Obama is perhaps a might too cautious, but in a dangerous world, shooting from the hip and lip is probably not the wisest policy.
On foreign policy and national security, cool is better than hot under the collar
Sully's liveblog.
Highlights:
"…Romney has basically fled neoconservatism as quickly as he would a liquor store. Romney is now endorsing Obama's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Let me put this as best I can: I don't believe this current series of total reversals would last a micro-second after his possible inauguration."
"On the apology question, Obama finally won. And the truth is that America has dictated to other countries. Dictating who the leader of Iran was in 1958, for example, was and remains integral to the distrust of the US in the country. And it weakens America."
"We have just seen the unraveling not of Obama's foreign policy – Romney backs it – but of Romney's mathematics. Romney's claim that he can balance the budget in eight years is another massive lie. Obama has just made a real advance in this debate. By ripping Romney's absurd proposals to build ships just because he thinks we should have more ships was devastating."
"Watching this man shape-shift in front of your eyes is staggering. I'm fascinated by the purity of the cynicism. Seriously, I've never seen any human being up close like this – a mechanical, unstoppable machine of say anything, forget everything in the past, refuse to take any responsibility for anything he has said in the past, and just smile and golly-gee smile his way along. There's a a machine-like quality that chills me. I have no idea what he would do in office on anything. I believe nothing he says."
"Romney is endorsing Obama's foreign policy. Simple as that. Amazing. You cannot believe it of course. you can believe nothing that comes out of that mouth."
"Romney is effectively endorsing Obama's foreign policy, except for demanding that we "lead" in some amorphous way." Live-Blogging The Foreign Policy Debate andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com
Margaret Hughes: Gov. Romney thinks teacher's unions are causing all of our foreign policy problems. Am I missing something?
GATE: Who knew Romney was a Woody Allen fan? He’s telegraphing the line about the world being destroyed when a man named Albert Shanker got a hold of a nuclear warhead.
Lisa Belk-Lewis: Yessssssssssssssssssss stop saying you killed Bin Laden, it was the Navy Seals that killed Bin Laden. Duhhhh
GATE: who had Hyman Roth killed? Michael Corleone, or Rocco Lampone; credit where credit is due
FIBBER & MALI DEPARTMERT:
Maria Paz Artaza-Regan: Is Mali now part of the middle east?
GATE: He thought he was talking about Molly Picon, who played Yenta the Matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof–she went to Israel at the end of the movie.
Stoopidest article of the day?
Why are there Obama offices in NYC?
Phones banks, schmuck. Barack Obama Opened Three New Campaign Offices In New York. But Why? blogs.villagevoice.com
The ultimate Dog Bites Man Story: Hikind campaigns for a Republican.
This is not news. New would be when this member of the Democratic State Committee and Brooklyn Democratic Executive Committee campaigns for a Democrat. Democratic Assemblyman to Stump for Romney in Florida politicker.com
Cuomo: I’ll be doing them on a person by person basis in the races that I get involved and I’ll be doing that on a rolling basis going forward.
A rolling basis all right; mostly rolling over for Republicans. Cuomo: Endorsements Coming On A ‘Rolling Basis’ capitaltonightny.ynn.com
Not fer nuthin, but real challengers don't leave empty–even a GOP ambush like Dyker Heights Civic should be looked at as an opportunity—I mean, what do you really have to lose? Michael Grimm Has Eastwood-Style Empty Chair Face-Offs at Local Debates and Forums politicker.com
Smart analysis of Levin v Restler.
Personal to author–can you give me the Levin-Restler numbers from within Marty Dilan's district? I have a point I want to prove to Orthodox Pundit. Lincoln Restler Vs Stephen Levin, September 2013 hasidicbrooklyn.tumblr.com
Though Rick Hertzberg may have once cribbed from one of my pieces, he would have done well to read the one where I conclusively debunk the "Mao got votes at the 72 convention” myth.