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