Romney and Obama Go Head to Head

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama went head-to-head for the first time Wednesday in Denver, Colo.

The night progressed quickly from greetings and Romney’s congratulations of Obama’s 20th wedding anniversary to big questions about the economy.

Taxes, education, energy, deficit reduction, small businesses, regulations, healthcare and social security were hot button topics. Both candidates pointed out the differences in each other’s strategies.

On the subject of taxes, both candidates presented points that they thought would help strengthen the middle class. For example, Romney favors tax cuts across the board and Obama would like to raise taxes on higher income individuals.

One thing the candidates agreed on was getting America’s schools back on top. However, the ways of getting to that point where clearly opposite.

Obama plans to hire “100,000 more teachers,” he said during the debate. Romney would like to open up restrictions on schools so that parents can decide to enroll their child in a school of their choosing.

Obama and Romney also discussed energy policies. Romney stated clearly that he would open up more public lands for oil exploration, build the pipeline from Canada to the Gulf, and drill more in Alaska. Obama said that he would like to invest more in green technologies such as wind and sun. Both agreed that energy independence is important, but their views on how to achieve this goal are very different.

Much time in the debate was spent discussing how to create private sector jobs. Small business was deemed the workhorse in getting America back on track. This led to discussion about current regulations for businesses and how they can make the small business field attractive to more people.

Healthcare was another topic that got some attention by each candidate. Romney said he would like to “repeal Obamacare” and to enact a healthcare reform of his own. Obama defended and explained his healthcare reform that was upheld this summer by the Supreme Court.

Social security, Medicaid and Medicare were also discussed. Obama and Romney both plan on changing the way these systems work.

Obama and Romney are creating a clear contrast for this November at the election booth. Both have big dreams for America but different ways of approaching them.

The next debates take place Oct. 11 with the vice president candidates; Oct. 16 with presidential candidates in a town hall setting talking about foreign and domestic policy; and Oct. 22 with presidential candidates talking about foreign policy. All debates start at 8 p.m. central time and can be viewed on any news channel.