The focus of the last of their three debates was supposed to be foreign policy, but both Romney and Obama used their time to talk about the issues most important to voters: jobs, the economy and the budget. They talked about the auto bailout, school class sizes and Romney's tax plan. At several points, CBS's Bob Schieffer, who served as moderator, tried to bring them back to foreign affairs and national security, but sometimes to no avail.
Romney appeared cautious, especially during the early stages of the debate, but grew more assertive as the evening went on. Throughout the debate, Obama seemed eager and ready to take the fight to his opponent, drawing on his experience to draw contrasts with the challenger. At times, as Romney offered pointed criticism of his policies, Obama glared directly at him.
The nerve! He's President, you know!
Romney's central critique was that Obama had been weak in the face of "a rising tide of chaos" and tumult in the world. When Obama charged that Romney has been "all over the map" in his policies, the challenger responded by saying, "Attacking me is not talking about how we're going to deal with the challenges that exist in the Middle East."
But the tactic might get him re-elected.
 But Obama pressed his case that Romney's worldview as well as his prescriptions for the domestic front were not just wrong but also rooted in the past. "When it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s," he said.
Clever, catchy, and tough to refute in 25 words or less. Also meaningless.
Although the two had argued at last week's debate about what happened in Libya and whether the administration had been slow to identify the attack as an act of terrorism, the issue never got a full airing on Monday.
And not much of an airing in the WaPo, either.
At one point, Romney argued that he would not support budget cuts to the military, pointing out that the U.S. Navy had reduced its fleet of warships to the lowest number since the early 1900s. "Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets," the president countered, "because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines."
Who writes this stuff, the ghost of Johnny Carson?
White voters side with Romney by a 15-point margin (56 to 41 percent), while non-whites break heavily for the president, 78 to 19 percent. Among African Americans, the margin is overwhelming: 94 to 2 percent.
What an interesting observation!
The seesawing battle for voters now has Obama with the edge on the enthusiasm front: 64 percent of Obama's backers say they are "very enthusiastic" about his candidacy, higher than the 58 percent of Romney's who are that engaged behind his run. Still, Obama's popularity trails his 2008 levels.
That's the best news in this article! 
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