Obama Campaign and Democratic Reactions to the Second Presidential Debate

Obama for America  
 
CHICAGO -- Obama for America released the following statement from Campaign Manager Jim Messina in reaction to tonight’s debate:
 
“President Obama clearly won tonight’s debate. The American people saw their leader tonight – a strong, steady and decisive president with an affirmative vision to move this country forward and build the economy from the middle out, not the top down. He pointed out that Mitt Romney is offering the American people a ‘sketchy deal’ – his plan to spend $5 trillion on a tax cut for the wealthiest that they don’t need and $2 trillion for a defense buildup the Pentagon says it doesn’t want, without explaining how he’d pay for it. Romney misfired on his attacks and fired blanks on his own proposals. When he was exposed on the emptiness of his own plans, he was rattled, lashed out against moderator and refused to explain his indefensible ideas.”
 
Democratic National Committee

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Second Presidential Debate: President Obama Was Clear Winner Tonight, Showing Strength, Decisiveness and a Steady Hand While Mitt Romney Repeatedly Missed the Mark

Washington, D.C. – DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement on tonight’s presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York:

“President Obama emerged from tonight’s debate as the clear victor.  He made it clear to the American people that he possesses the strength, decisiveness and steady hand that our country needs – and that he has a vision to keep moving America forward and build our economy not from the top down, but from the middle out.  Voters across the country also saw the President clearly break down the ‘sketchy deal’ that Mitt Romney has offered them: his plan to spend a whopping $5 trillion on a tax cut for the wealthiest few, even though they don’t need it, and $2 trillion on a defense buildup that the Pentagon has made clear it doesn’t want – without any explanation as to how he would pay for it. 

“But President Obama didn’t just win tonight – Mitt Romney lost, and he did it by launching one misfire after another in his attacks against the President, in addition to missing the mark on his own proposals.  When called out for the lack of substance to his own plans, Romney was clearly flustered and took it out on the moderator rather than actually offering a defense of his indefensible plans.  And just as he’s done at every twist and turn of his campaign, he misled the American people – not only by refusing to tell the truth about his plan to take away women’s access to affordable contraception or his pledge to veto the DREAM Act, but also by lying about the President’s immediate response to the terror attack in Benghazi.  Mitt Romney showed once again that all he has to offer are more false attacks, more empty proposals and more failed leadership – and the American people simply deserve better than that.”

Obama Campaign and Democrats Leading up to the Second Presidential Debate

Obama for America
October 16, 2012

 
CHICAGO -- President Obama will use tonight’s debate to talk about what we’ve accomplished over the last four years to rebuild our economy and restore middle class security, and his specific plans for the next four years to continue moving our country forward. He’ll also hold Mitt Romney accountable for dishonestly trying to mislead voters about his positions, which would take us back to the same failed policies that crashed our economy and punished the middle class.
 
To fight back against Romney’s dishonest practices during the debate, OFA will continue to fact check and respond to Mitt Romney’s statements in real time using the @OFAdebates Twitter handle. Followers of the campaign’s existing @TruthTeam2012 account will automatically receive tweets from @OFAdebates. Go to www.barackobama.com/OFAdebates to follow.
 
Outside of the debate hall, the President’s grassroots supporters will be working to remind voters of what’s at stake in this election. Tonight, more than 1,500 grassroots voter contact events are scheduled across the country – and in nearly every battleground state, our margins in voter registration and early voting are bigger now than they were in 2008.
 
After the debate, the following campaign officials and surrogates will be in Hempstead to respond immediately to Romney’s performance:
 
·         David Axelrod, Obama for America Senior Strategist
·         Rep. Karen Bass (D, CA-33)
·         Rep. Xavier Becerra (D, CA-31)
·         Stephanie Cutter, Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager
·         Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), OFA national campaign co-chair
·         Patrick Gaspard, DNC Executive Director
·         Robert Gibbs, Obama for America Senior Advisor
·         Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
·         Jim Messina, Obama for America Campaign Manager
·         Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD), Chair of the Democratic Governors Association
·         Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA), OFA national campaign co-chair
·         David Plouffe, 2008 Obama for America Campaign Manager
·         Jen Psaki, Obama for America Traveling Press Secretary
·         Mayor Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta
·         Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund*
·         Cecilia Rouse, Princeton University Economist
·         Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
·         Governor Ted Strickland, former Ohio governor and OFA national campaign co-chair
·         Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D, MD-8)
·         Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D, NY-12)
·         Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles and OFA national campaign co-chair
·         DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D, FL-20)
 
* For identification purposes only

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