The big question on Tuesday, even before the second U.S. presidential debate began in New York, was how aggressive incumbent President Barack Obama would be. Tuesday night's debate focused mostly on foreign affairs. Obama had prepared to please the American middle class, which is of course, mostly concerned with internal problems. Obama obviously believes that his government made considerable achievements in foreign policy. In prep sessions with his advisers in Virginia, between golf games, they told him not to forget to note the withdrawal from Iraq, the elimination of Osama bin Laden and, of course, the preparations for withdrawal from Afghanistan; all some of his greatest achievements. In contrast, Republican candidate Mitt Romney's advisers must have told him not to forget to mention to the president how he promised to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center immediately upon entering the White House, but soon saw that this was unfeasible. But Obama mainly needed to justify his administration's great fault with regard to the al-Qaida attack on the American mission in Libya, in which the ambassador was killed. The U.S. State Department has reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked for more security at the American Embassy in Libya; Vice President Joe Biden says that the White House had no such information. For the Republican candidate, the Libya blunder was a lovely "gift" for debate night, so he could declare that Obama's government hasn't done enough to ensure the safety of American citizens. Not just citizens, but the ambassador, a direct representative of the president. Bin Laden may be dead, but so is the American ambassador to Libya. Obama had much more to lose in this debate, beyond just his presidency. He came with good poll results, an advantage of 49 percent to 46% in the last poll from ABC and The Washington Post. Now, both campaigns are already thinking about the third and final debate on Oct. 22 in Florida. The fourth debate will be at the polls. Things are heating up.
