US president Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney met last night at New York's Hofstra University for the second of three presidential debates ahead of the November 6th election. Below are some highlights of what the two candidates said.
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY
On Obama's response to Libya attacks:
"There was no demonstration involved, it was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people. Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn't know what happened, you have to ask yourself...
"The president's policies throughout the Middle East began with an apology tour and pursue a strategy of leading from behind. And this strategy is unraveling before our very eyes."
Answering question on women paid less than men:
"What we can do to help young women and women of all ages is to have a strong economy, so strong that employers that are looking to find good employees are bringing them into their workforce and adapting to a flexible work schedule that gives women opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to afford."
On Obama's record:
"The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. He's great as a speaker and at describing his plans and his vision. That's wonderful, except we have a record to look at and that record shows that he just hasn't been able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and Social Security to preserve them, to get us the rising incomes we need."
On his own job plan:
"I want to make small businesses grow and thrive. I know how to make that happen. I spent my life in the private sector. I know why jobs come and why they go. And they're going now because of the policies of this administration."
On comparisons to President George W. Bush:
"President Bush and I are different people and these are different times. And that's why my five-point plan is so different from what he would have done."
On energy:
"I want to make sure we use our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear, our renewables... But what we don't need is to have the president keeping us from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas. This has not been Mr Oil, or Mr Gas, or Mr Coal."
On taxes:
"I will not under any circumstances reduce the share that's being paid by the highest-income paying taxpayers and I will not under any circumstance increase taxes on the middle class. The president's spending, the president's borrowing will cause this nation to have to raise taxes on the American people, and not just at the high end."
On unemployment:
"We have fewer people working today than we had when the president took office... We have not made the progress we need to make to put people back to work."
On employment after college:
"The key thing is to make sure you've got a job when you get out of school. And what's happened over the last four years has been very, very hard for America's young people... Half of college kids graduating this year without a job, without a college level job, that's just unacceptable.... When you come out in 2014, I presume I'm going to be president. I'm going to make sure you get a job."
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
On his response to Libya attack:
"I'm the president and I'm always responsible."
"Not everybody agrees with some of the decisions I've made, but when it comes to our national security I mean what I say... When I say that we're going to find out exactly what happened, everybody will be held accountable and I am ultimately responsible for what's taking place there, because these are my folks and I'm the one who has to greet those coffins when they come home - you know I mean what I say."
In response to charge he was slow to label it terrorist attack:
"The day after the attack, Governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we were going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror and I also said that we were going to hunt down those who committed this crime."
On Romney's responses to Libya attack:
"While we were still dealing with our diplomats still being threatened, Governor Romney put out a press release, trying to make political points. And that's not how a commander-in-chief operates. You don't turn national security into a political issue, certainly not right when it's happening."
On women's issues:
"These are not just women's issues. These are family issues. These are economic issues... That's been one of the hallmarks of my administration. I'm going to continue to push on this issue for the next four years."
On Romney's tax plan:
"What he says is he's going to make sure that this doesn't add to the deficit and he's going to cut middle-class taxes. But when he's asked, 'how are you going to do it, which deductions, which loopholes are you going to close?' he can't tell you... We haven't heard from the governor any specifics beyond Big Bird and eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood in terms of how he pays for that."
Answering why Americans should vote for him again:
"The commitments I've made, I've kept. And those that I haven't been able to keep, it's not for a lack of trying and we're going to get it done in the second term."
On Romney's promise to crack down on China:
"When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that Governor Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of outsourcing to China... Governor, you're the last person to get tough on China."
On energy:
"When I hear Governor Romney say he's a big coal guy, I mean, keep in mind, Governor, when you were governor of Massachusetts, you stood in front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said, 'This plant kills,' and took great pride in shutting it down. And now suddenly, you're a big champion of coal."
On lower gas prices when he took office:
"The economy was on the verge of collapse because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney now promotes. So it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down the gas prices, because with his policies we might be back in that same mess."
On Romney's energy plan:
"He's got the oil and gas part, but he doesn't have the clean energy part. And if we're only thinking about tomorrow and the next day and not thinking about ten years from now, we're not going to control our economic future. Because China, Germany, they're making these investments, and I'm not going to cede those jobs in the future to those counties."
On Romney's economic plan:
"Governor Romney says he's got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn't have a five-point plan, he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. That's been his philosophy in the private sector, that's been his philosophy as a governor and that's been his philosophy as a presidential candidate."
Reuters