The Pioneer Heads to Hofstra

Alex Parker & Olivia Wicik
Editors-in-Chief

The atmosphere of Hofstra’s campus on Tuesday, October 16, was that of pure exhilaration and anticipation. Governor Mitt Romney and incumbent President Barrack Obama would be going head to head in their second debate. Everywhere you went on campus there was something going on. MSNBC was doing a live broadcast outside the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center all day. Sirius XM’s P.O.T.U.S. host and stand-up comedian , Pete Dominick, was also doing a live broadcast from inside the student center. LIU Post was fortunate enough to have Editors-in-Chief, Alex Parker and Olivia Wicik, attend the event.

This town hall style debate generated a lot of comments and opinions about the candidates and where they stand on social issues. Dominick shared his thoughts with The Pioneer on one big topic of the evenings, jobs.

“Young people are concerned about getting a job, it’s scary…Mitt Romney’s jobs plan just got four Pinocchio’s from The Washington Post. This guy says whatever anybody wants to hear to win. It’s sad, I try to be objective but this is ridiculous,” he said.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Mike Ventre, Chairman of the New York Federation of College Republicans also shared his opinion. “Four years ago we were promised hope and change and we weren’t given that. A lot of false promises were given and I think Governor Romney is really going to lead the way for our generation.”

Edward Isaac Dovere, the Deputy White House Editor for Politico, wasn’t too sure whether the Town Hall style debate would be in either candidate’s favor. “It’s a tricky format and they have not had as much experience doing that kind of debating as other kinds of debates,” he said.

The excitement at Hofstra grew during the hours leading up to the debate, and all those in attendance were ready to see Obama and Romney go head to head. Reporter from The Daily, Justin Silverman, said “I saw a funny tweet this morning from The Onion which said, “Obama getting ready for his first debate.” So, I think that people are just thinking that as long as Obama does something and isn’t just a sack of potatoes like he was last time, or perceived to be last time, then it will be a strong point for him. Mitt Romney also has a lot of pressure because he has to do as well as he did last time. It should be interesting.” As a reporter, Silverman did not care to divulge his political views to The Pioneer.

The debate began promptly at 9 p.m. and Republicans and Democrats alike watched in anticipation as both candidates debated, focusing on domestic policy. The first question of the night was from first-time voter, 20-year-old Jeremy Epstein, asking about, as most had predicted, jobs. The debate went on for about an hour and a half, ending with moderator Candy Crowley thanking both candidates for their time and reminding Americans to vote.

Just last night, the third and last presidential debate took place at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Unfortunately, Parker and Wicik were unable to attend. They were however, able to watch it in the Hillwood Commons Cinema at Post. The number of Americans that tuned in was much lower than the previous two debates, at 59.2 million. The focus of the night was foreign policy.

The back and forth banter between the two candidates created some pretty epic points during this debate as well. If “binders full of women” was the standout moment from the last presidential debate, then “horses and bayonets” was last night’s capital moment. When asked about his proposed $2.1 trillion military spending increase, Governor Romney answered with, “We need a stronger military, and the Navy needs more ships because it has fewer ships than it did in 1916.” Obama came back with “We also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed.” This was the last presidential debate before Election Day, which is merely two weeks away. Make sure to check out www.liupostpioneer.com to listen to the full news package, compiled from interviews that Parker and Wicik conducted at last week’s debate held at Hofstra University.