Round Three Debate Settles Nothing

BOCA RATON, FL - OCTOBER 22: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) greets Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (L) as moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS looks on prior to their debate at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The final presidential debate before election day on November 6th focuses on foreign policy. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

With two weeks to go before voters make their choice as to whether President Barack Obama deserves another term, or if Mitt Romney can run things for the next four years, one thing is certain.  Absolutely nothing.

Depending on which poll you believe, both Obama and Romney are dead even nationally, and in the swing states with the most electoral votes.  The third and final debate Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida did nothing to help voters, with all the sidestepping going on about the issues.

The debate, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, was mostly about American foreign policy.  But both candidates snuck in domestic issues such as education and the economy.  Here the President did what was expected, highlighting his experience and accomplishments in international affairs while Romney could only heckle from the sidelines.  Which is why he kept coming back to the economy, because he knows that's how this election is going to turn.

Both men agreed that (A) Iran should dismantle its nuclear program, (B) support for Israel is unwavering, (C) Hafez Assad should step down in Syria and let them form a new government, and (D) American soldiers should be out of Afghanistan by 2014.

If anything, Romney has toned down his belligerent attitude towards the Middle East and China, but that doesn't mean he isn't the least bit hawkish.  He proposed spending trillions of dollars more on defense spending, while the President's been advocating cutting back.  That led to Romney claiming the military is at its weakest point since before World War I, with Obama replying that horses and bayonets are not as numerous as they used to be.  Has the President been watching "Revolution"?

Schieffer was the best of the four moderators used during these debates, "Obama bin Laden" notwithstanding.  He asked the right questions and kept things moving without too much intrusion from either of the candidates.  Compared to the previous two, this was less a debate than a commercial-free, extended edition of Schieffer's Sunday morning broadcast, "Face the Nation".

So this is what we have, folks.  President Obama is still the odds-on favorite to win re-election, but he acts as if he's running from behind.  Mitt Romney sounds like a man who will say and do anything to get elected, and it looks like he's succeeding.  Not an appealing choice as November 6 approaches, but there it is.