Economy in focus during Obama, Romney showdown

Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, listens during the Presidential Debate at the University of Denver on October 3, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. / Getty

Updated 11:40 p.m. ET

After months of heated, sometimes nasty, campaigning, President Obama and Mitt Romney met in the same room on the same stage for the first time Wednesday night for the first of three debates, this one focusing specifically on the top issue on voters' minds: the economy.

At the University of Denver, in the battleground state of Colorado, moderator Jim Lehrer threw the first question to President Obama. Beyond the cordial, obligatory opening remarks, which included the president wishing his wife, Michelle, a happy 20th wedding anniversary and promising not to spend their next anniversary in front of "40 million people," the debate quickly turned to economic philosophy.

The opening remarks of both candidates attempted to define the other but also outlined their differing visions.

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"Are we going to double-down on the top-down" economic plan that Romney proposes? the president asked, criticizing Romney for an economic plan that benefits the wealthy. "Or do we embrace a new economic patriotism?" he said, which he defined as an economic approach of shared sacrifice and a focus on the middle class.

Romney responded recounting a story of a young couple who is struggling and just lost their home. He said he "can help" such families, but it's "going to take a different path." He added, "The president has a view very similar to the view he had when he ran four years, that a bigger government, spending more, taxing more, regulating more -- if you will, trickle-down government -- would work."

Romney promised, if elected, to meet with Democrats on his first day as president to ensure he can get things done.

The president, however, mocked Romney's statement. "I think Governor Romney's going to have a busy first day, because he's also going to repeal 'Obamacare,' which will not be very popular among Democrats as you're sitting down with them," he quipped.

Poll: Uncommitted voters agree 2:1, Romney wins debate

"And I've got to tell you, Governor Romney, when it comes to his own party during the course of this campaign, has not displayed that willingness to say no to some of the more extreme parts of his party," the president added.

Prior to the start of the debate, an Obama campaign aide said the president's aim is not to attack Romney but to "correct Romney's attacks as needed," adding that his "number one goal" is to lay out his plans for the next four years. The president partially stuck to that goal. He didn't attack Romney personally (as Romney didn't take personal shots at the president), but he attempted to define Romney's proposals, especially around the issues of Medicare and taxes.

The president, who appeared nervous at the beginning of the debate, hit a common theme he often addresses on the campaign trail, slamming Romney's tax plan for cutting taxes by $5 trillion dollars without defining how he would pay for it.

"How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those costs onto middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign," the president said.

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Romney fights Obama on $5 trillion tax cut

Romney quickly refuted the president's argument. "Virtually everything he just said about my tax plan is inaccurate," Romney said. He added that his plan would cut taxes for the middle class, but wouldn't reduce the "share" of taxes high-income earners pay.

"High-income people are doing just fine in this economy. They'll do fine whether you're president or I am," Romney said. "I will not reduce the taxes paid by high-income Americans."

Mr. Obama chided, "Well, for 18 months he's been running on this tax plan. And now, five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big, bold idea is, 'never mind.'"

He also questioned Romney's mathematics saying, "[T]he fact is that if you are lowering the rates the way you described, Governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. It's -- it's math. It's arithmetic."

After the president said Romney would cut education to pay for tax cuts, Romney responded, "Mr. President, you're entitled as the president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts."

Romney said "the right course" for the country is to not be the economy's referee, but make the private sector "more efficient and more effective."

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[mikesfilms]

Obama forgot to ask Romney about his refusal to show tax reports and offshore accounts. What is he hiding? The companies and jobs he's transferred to China? Second, he didn't go far enough on the 47% comment. The real Romney showing behind closed doors actually said he didn't expect half of the nation to vote for him because they lived off the govt and didn't pay taxes (no doubt if in the WH, he plans to get even and savage them).

[superdem1]

Romney blamed our President for everything from the rise of people needing food stamps to the rise in the price of oil - as if the President has anything to do with that ! People need food stamps when they lose their jobs, and that is the "free market" doing a Bain on people in the workforce. Gas prices are the "free market" again gouging people for every cent possible. The blame for no jobs goes to the scions of industry, who have unlimited dark money for Romney's campaign but not a nickle to hire anyone or raise their salaries. You know, the American businessmen who move their operations and jobs overseas for tax breaks and cheap labor, which Mitt Romney knows NOTHING ABOUT - did you hear him last night ? What a LIAR. I hoped President Obama would call Mr. Romney on his unlimited river of lies, but the President just couldn't stem the flood. The sad thing is American voters take Mr. Romney's spewing for LEADERSHIP. Did you hear Mr. Romeny say no one 60 or over even needs to listen to the plan for Medicare ? The President said anyone under 60 better LISTEN UP, because what's coming is a DISASTER if Romney gets elected. Undecideds ? You have to be insane to be undecided at this point, the differences are so clear, no matter how well the President defends or Mitt attacks. Nothing has changed - Mitt would have let the car companies fail, and he will take away womens' rights to choose, EVERYONE needs to remember that. We CANNOT let him near the Supreme Court to nominate his right wing monkeys. That certainly hasn't changed. If Mitt wins - the Democrats see the plan to victory - filibuster everything Mitt tries to do, then call his presidency a FAILURE. Can anyone dream the Republicans won't get what they dished out ?

[mikesugar9]

I think Romney won by telling "Convenient Lie".
Obama was not as he has been. Clearly something happened on him.
He unknowingly took some medicine with some drink with alcohol.
He seemed to be poisoned (small amount of a sleeping pill causes such behaviors). This is a serious matter. His staff members must investigate what happened on him, what he ate, and where he ate.

Romney has never talked his real thoughts, or plans , or intentions in front of the public, his famous comment about "the 47%" already proved.
He frequently changing his opinions for last one year or so. He admits that what he says is "Convenient Lie". He just gave us delicious meals, but nobody knows their ingredients like food products from China.
Be careful! Already Republican gave us similar delicious meals without mentioning ingredients to us before. Many middle class people jumped to grab them. Unfortunately they ate them. They were severely suffered by a poison hidden inside and lost many fortunes during Reagan and G.W. Bush.
Two years after Reagan's famous speech "Are you better off then you were 4 years ago?", the unemployment rate went up to more than 10% and it stayed for 10 months . Then 1987 Black Monday killed the middle class again. Bush also did tax cut and the 2008 great financial collapse killed them again. During both eras, the benefits from tax cut for the middle class were all gone. However, the rich became richer. Something is wrong.
Republican's economy worked well at the sacrifice of the middle class.
Don't forget the fact!
All big financial collapses happened during Republican Presidency, like 1929 Great Depression (Hoover), 1987 Black Monday(Reagan) and 2008 Financial collapse (G.W Bush). During these presidency, especially last two, the rich became richer, but the middle class was dumped into the hell.
Enjoy Republican's delicious meals! Good luck!

[airtight2]

President Obama and his administration are intelligent people and I believe they will have a much better showing on the 16th and 22nd. Being Prez and handling a crisis in the Middle East, domestic security, economic downturns and lending a hand to a European crisis leaves little time to debate past issues but it is necessary. Add in a wife that is mad at being in a debate in her anniversary and you have a bad recipe. with that said we can still salvage high points. Romneys a pit bull and showed his teeth. Where he might of won the debate he might lose the war for his rude interruptions and savage attacks......is that Presidential and does it reflect someone who can negotiate on the world stage. Romney talked about principles and Reagan but if yopu review Reagans debate he did not savagely attack Carter with numbers. He may fall prey to his own tactics because he sounded like a bean counter not a president. On the other hand Obama should of been able to press him on facts like numbers unemployed and the increase in food stamps. Food stamps are used when you qualify and if there was an equilibrium between the cost of living and wages there would be fewer people that NEEDED them. The decisions that were made regarding mortgage assistance, FDIC, making homes affordable and the auto industry have yielded benefits. Housing sales are up, builders are healthy, and the auto industry is growing. He did stick him on Dodd -Frank but I don't know how many people got that one because Romney had to bend and agree about financial regulation and admit his lack of a plan but necessity of regulation. If you read between the lines Romney had to change a lot of his previous stances but those are not things easily picked up.

[wfw3536]

It is hard for Obama to win a debate when he has to run on his failed presidency. Romney was able to work with independence and Dems in his state when he passed the health care bill. Yet, Obama shoved it down the Reps throat without getting one vote. Bob Woodward was right in his new book that he did with interviews of Obama and as being an insider said Obama is lacking in the leadership skill needed to work in Washington.

[CoJo7]

Romney's entire plan for everything is in the hope that businesses will hire or bring back jobs from overseas. With respect to overseas jobs, every business report I've read (more than one) says labor costs are the big drivers, not taxes. Reduced taxes are just gravy. If jobs do not come in at a rate of 250,000 jobs per month, watch his plan blow up along with the debt. He has put everything in one basket. If the number of jobs are not created, new revenue does not occur. I have yet to hear even small business commit to hiring significantly more from the reduced taxes.

[CoJo7]

It comes down to simple math:
If 20% tax cuts + bush's tax cuts >= cut deductions then
vote for Romney
else
vote for Obama

note, the 20% + bush's tax does indeed equal 5 trillion.
this also means the middle class no longer gets the payroll or the medicare tax cuts. In otherwords, there IS a tax increase on the middle class

[airtight2]

yeah ......the trickle down logic is just flawed in a recovery. Business dont hire for tax cuts they need demand. Tax cuts are incentives. If as a single man I can spend $200 a month for food if you tell me I'll give you $100 (incentive) if you buy another $200 of food (goal) I'll say your out of your mind. Or I'll take the money and put it in my pocket (bonuses and profit) because my stomach is full when I buy $200 worth why buy $400 worth .....it will spoil. I buy the extra $200 if I need to buy it for another person (demand). Unfortunately we have had to create demand. And when the Republicans blocked the jobs bills they stopped demand. We had supply with no where to go.

[icjunior97]

@ChevyHotRod: Since there is no reply link to the reply to my post, I will do it this way.
Of course good school are a GREAT thing to have. As someone who has young neices who are just starting the education process, this is very important. But having kids bus from all over the city trying to find a "good school" is NOT fixing the issue. That is my point. I am not into bandaids over the actually problem.
Second, anyone who believes that oil, coal, clean energy does not get federal dollars (whether in subsidies or large tax breaks) is leaving in on another planet. Dollars in millions :$654 million (oil), $486 million (wind), $189 million (coal), $215 million (hydro). Look at any public federal budget website and find the information. I have done all my research from both sides. Every agency needs a PUBLIC audit done, which by the ways has not happen for the most part since 1940's. Oh by the way the Chevy Volt, gets about 30,000 dollars per car from the feds.

[chevyhotrod]

I have many nieces (15) and nephews (12) and children (3) of my own and all of them are in school. I volenteer at least 8 hours per week to my local school district as do many others in our community and it shows. We are in the top schools in Ohio and the Nation when it comes to college placement.

Did you not hear the facts about Wind and Solar getting $90 Billion in subsidies vs $2.5 billion tax breaks for the oil and gas industry?

A tax break is not a subsidy maybe that is where your mistake is.

A subsidy is assistance paid to a business or economic sector or producers. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributed as subventions in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry.

Tax break is a slang term referring to any item which reduces tax, including any tax exemption, tax deduction, or tax credit. Tax break is also a pejorative term used in the United States to refer to purportedly favorable tax treatment of any class of persons, as in "individuals get a tax break for xxx".

A subsidy is money taken from the tax payers and given to a specific entity.

A tax break is reducing the amount of tax paid into the federal government to encourage growth.

[DOGGYPANTS]

I have voted both ways in the past, but I feel that Romney has much more to offer this country. He and hs family are job creators - they care about th epeopl eo fthis country, and believe that there are alternatives to entitlements. Yes, working is harder than accepting entilements, but it leads to self esteem and accomplishment.
Yes, Romney won hands down.

[imprelent]

Woe betide the impotent Obama. Ever since the onset Obama was indelicate, enervated, emasculated, filled with confusion and consternation, doesn't even know how to stand at a podium, as he continually lifted up one leg. While Romney was exuberant, cogent at his best and showed not clemency to smite Obama into dreg. The upshot was so overwhelmingly clear that dejected liberal doesn't even try to spin Obama's failure. The only recourse for Obama to avert another humiliating defeat in front of the whole world is to resign from office before the next debate.