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Mediamax, Armenia
Oct 12 2012
Obama vs Romney: Part 2
Friday 12 October 2012 14:07
The U.S. Embassy gave the opportunity to Mediamax's correspondent Aram
Araratyan to watch the U.S. presidential election campaign. A special
project was born as a result of his trip to the U.S. and we present
you the second part of it now. You can read the first part here.
Debate
October 3. State University of Denver. The whole America's attention
is focused on this university - this is where the first and perhaps
the crucial debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will take
place.
Morning newspapers carried screaming headlines like "Duel in Denver"
and apart from forecasts, they recall the deeds of the past - previous
debates between the U.S. presidential contenders which proved crucial
or exerted significant impact on the outcome of the election campaign.
1960 - the first TV debates, young and charming John Kennedy wins
Richard Nixon. 1976- Gerald Ford yields his positions to Jimmy Carter
stating in the very swing of the Cold War that "there is no Soviet
domination" in the Eastern Europe. 1984 - Ronald Reagan demonstrates
how to win with a single phrase stating in reply to the remark
concerning his elderly age that he doesn't "exploit, for political
purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience". 1992- George Bush the
Elder takes a false step demonstratively looking at his watch at the
critical moment of his debates with Bill Clinton. 2000- Albert Gore
conspicuously winks and heavily sighs during the speech of his
opponent George W. Bush. The audience doesn't accept such an
extravagant conduct...
The above mentioned is meant for highlighting the importance of the
debates. Supposedly, only twice in the history did the debate
dramatically change the process of the election campaign but its
significance and weight are undoubtedly considerable. Not only should
one appear prepared excellently in various aspects at the debate but
also not forget about the humor, appearance and body language. The
candidates have 90 minutes exactly to try to convince millions of
Americans.
Romney stayed in Denver since October 1 while Obama arrived only on
the day of the debates. Romney prepared for the debates for all the
recent months whereas Obama spent much less time on it. Each of them
had his own sparring, a partner for practicing. For Obama, it was
former presidential candidate in 2004 John Kerry.
For several hours preceding the debates, the university campus was
already crowded - the so-called DebateFest is in the full swing here.
People, the majority of them being students, sing, dance, play games
and just have fun. Right here you can also see tables with various
symbolic and "advertisement", not necessarily calling on voting for
either of the candidates. For instance, you can see a table devoted to
safe sex or autistic people next to the table with Obama or Romney
symbols.
There is a huge media center called Spin Alley specially for
journalists. About 3500 journalists from all over the world and
numerous experts, lecturers and professors work here. Looking closely,
one can see familiar faces, for example, New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani.
The start of the debates turned out to be romantic. Barack Obama
turned to his wife Michele seated in the hall noting that he became
the happiest man in the world 20 years ago as Michele agreed to marry
him. In his remark, Mitt Romney ironically noted that celebrate the
20th anniversary with him "is the most romantic option". After that,
the candidates focused on the debates. The agenda included serious
items - unemployment and workplaces, budget deficit, taxes and
healthcare and public administration. Obama's and Romney's views
dramatically differ in almost all the range of issues.
Everybody knows the results of the debates. Mitt Romney won them- he
was more decisive, aggressive, energetic and confident. No doubt, his
speech was much more impressive than the one with supporters at the
rally a few days ago. Vice versa, Barack Obama looked tired and
indifferent. The President who is usually very energetic seemed to be
a man who got awfully bored in the middle of the long-awaited and
important event and as though he would like to finish it all as soon
as possible. The months of preparation yielded their results and it's
not that hard to conceive of Romney as President as a couple of days
before. Romney freely and confidently used figures while Obama
periodically went into lengthy explanations (many people mention it to
be his main weak point). Romney confidently looked his opponent in the
eye almost all the time whereas for some reason, President Obama
looked down during the speech of the republican and even from time to
time nodded as though agreeing with his rival.
A couple of hours after the elections, CNN broadcasts results of the
poll on the site. The question is simple: who won the debate? The
results speak for themselves: Romney - 67%, Obama - 25%. Obviously,
Barack Obama isn't likely to win easily before October 3, as he was
forecasted to do. Mitt Romney felt "the smell of blood" and now he is
sure to go to the end.
Aram Araratyan
Denver-Yerevan
From: A. Papazian
Oct 12 2012
Obama vs Romney: Part 2
Friday 12 October 2012 14:07
The U.S. Embassy gave the opportunity to Mediamax's correspondent Aram
Araratyan to watch the U.S. presidential election campaign. A special
project was born as a result of his trip to the U.S. and we present
you the second part of it now. You can read the first part here.
Debate
October 3. State University of Denver. The whole America's attention
is focused on this university - this is where the first and perhaps
the crucial debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will take
place.
Morning newspapers carried screaming headlines like "Duel in Denver"
and apart from forecasts, they recall the deeds of the past - previous
debates between the U.S. presidential contenders which proved crucial
or exerted significant impact on the outcome of the election campaign.
1960 - the first TV debates, young and charming John Kennedy wins
Richard Nixon. 1976- Gerald Ford yields his positions to Jimmy Carter
stating in the very swing of the Cold War that "there is no Soviet
domination" in the Eastern Europe. 1984 - Ronald Reagan demonstrates
how to win with a single phrase stating in reply to the remark
concerning his elderly age that he doesn't "exploit, for political
purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience". 1992- George Bush the
Elder takes a false step demonstratively looking at his watch at the
critical moment of his debates with Bill Clinton. 2000- Albert Gore
conspicuously winks and heavily sighs during the speech of his
opponent George W. Bush. The audience doesn't accept such an
extravagant conduct...
The above mentioned is meant for highlighting the importance of the
debates. Supposedly, only twice in the history did the debate
dramatically change the process of the election campaign but its
significance and weight are undoubtedly considerable. Not only should
one appear prepared excellently in various aspects at the debate but
also not forget about the humor, appearance and body language. The
candidates have 90 minutes exactly to try to convince millions of
Americans.
Romney stayed in Denver since October 1 while Obama arrived only on
the day of the debates. Romney prepared for the debates for all the
recent months whereas Obama spent much less time on it. Each of them
had his own sparring, a partner for practicing. For Obama, it was
former presidential candidate in 2004 John Kerry.
For several hours preceding the debates, the university campus was
already crowded - the so-called DebateFest is in the full swing here.
People, the majority of them being students, sing, dance, play games
and just have fun. Right here you can also see tables with various
symbolic and "advertisement", not necessarily calling on voting for
either of the candidates. For instance, you can see a table devoted to
safe sex or autistic people next to the table with Obama or Romney
symbols.
There is a huge media center called Spin Alley specially for
journalists. About 3500 journalists from all over the world and
numerous experts, lecturers and professors work here. Looking closely,
one can see familiar faces, for example, New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani.
The start of the debates turned out to be romantic. Barack Obama
turned to his wife Michele seated in the hall noting that he became
the happiest man in the world 20 years ago as Michele agreed to marry
him. In his remark, Mitt Romney ironically noted that celebrate the
20th anniversary with him "is the most romantic option". After that,
the candidates focused on the debates. The agenda included serious
items - unemployment and workplaces, budget deficit, taxes and
healthcare and public administration. Obama's and Romney's views
dramatically differ in almost all the range of issues.
Everybody knows the results of the debates. Mitt Romney won them- he
was more decisive, aggressive, energetic and confident. No doubt, his
speech was much more impressive than the one with supporters at the
rally a few days ago. Vice versa, Barack Obama looked tired and
indifferent. The President who is usually very energetic seemed to be
a man who got awfully bored in the middle of the long-awaited and
important event and as though he would like to finish it all as soon
as possible. The months of preparation yielded their results and it's
not that hard to conceive of Romney as President as a couple of days
before. Romney freely and confidently used figures while Obama
periodically went into lengthy explanations (many people mention it to
be his main weak point). Romney confidently looked his opponent in the
eye almost all the time whereas for some reason, President Obama
looked down during the speech of the republican and even from time to
time nodded as though agreeing with his rival.
A couple of hours after the elections, CNN broadcasts results of the
poll on the site. The question is simple: who won the debate? The
results speak for themselves: Romney - 67%, Obama - 25%. Obviously,
Barack Obama isn't likely to win easily before October 3, as he was
forecasted to do. Mitt Romney felt "the smell of blood" and now he is
sure to go to the end.
Aram Araratyan
Denver-Yerevan
From: A. Papazian