Collegiate Times

People on both sides of the political aisle highly anticipated last week’s presidential debate.

After Gov. Mitt Romney’s stellar performance in the first debate, Republicans tuned in, hoping to see Romney build on the momentum from the first debate, which had him leading in many national polls for the first time since becoming the Republican nominee.

Democrats tuned in hoping to see President Barack Obama pick up the pieces from his first debate performance, which even Chris Matthew of MSNBC admitted Romney won. The left was very eager and ready to put that debate behind them.

Americans as a whole were anxious to see the two candidates duke it out in the town-hall setting, leaving the candidates unrestricted by podiums and more open to the people.

While many polls differ over who won the debate, it is important to look at which candidate performed better on specific issues. A CNN poll of 457 registered voters, which gave the win to Obama by a margin of six points, does not paint the entire picture.

From CNN’s polling of the debate audience, 58 percent saw Romney as better equipped to handle the economy, 51 percent thought he was better on taxes and 59 percent believe he can take on budget deficit.

So, Obama may have had a better performance overall, but he likely did not fully heal the wound left behind from the first debate.

To no one’s surprise, there were some heated exchanges throughout the debate, such as the one that came about when Romney asked Obama if he has looked at his pension. Obama replied by saying, “You know, I don’t look at my pension. It’s not as big as yours, so it doesn’t take as long.”

Romney quickly shot back with, “Let me give you some advice. Look at your pension. You also have investments in Chinese companies. You also have investments outside of the United States. You also have investment through a Caymans trust.”

Here is the thing: we all know Romney is, well, kind of rich. We have all seen the way the Democrats have attacked him for his wealth and investments, as if success in this country is something we now frown upon.

Turns out, not only does Obama have investments overseas like Romney does, but he also has a bigger pension than Romney because of his public sector work.

The only public work Romney had was as Massachusetts’s governor, but he took no salary and therefore will receive no pension for it.

Obama needs to stop hiding behind personal attacks against Romney’s business success and own up to the fact he is just as well off as his opponent.

Energy was another hotly contested issue in the debate. Obama tried to claim oil and natural gas production was up under his administration, as if he had something to do with it. Thankfully, Romney pointed out oil and gas production has increased on private land, whereas Obama has cut permits and licenses in half on federal land.

Obama countered by explaining that what Romney had accused him of was not true, but the Energy Information Administration would certainly disagree. It reported U.S. oil production increased by 5 percent from 2010 to 2011, but fell by 14 percent on federal land during that same time.

“On every point, Gov. Romney told the truth to the American people and President Obama did not. Leasing and permitting on federal lands have plummeted under Obama’s watch,” said Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance.

Not only is Obama’s “all of the above” energy plan a complete lie, but he also has no apparent problem with telling that lie to the American people over and over again.

On the surface, Obama appeared to have a better performance than he did in the first debate. However, that performance was completely covered in lies and false accusations. The American people deserve better, and the polls show they want a change.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.