UPDATE: We're having a small debate here about which zinger was the better of the two tonight. So that nobody is disappointed, I've added the other clip about battleships, horses and bayonets to the end of the diary. There is no reason to argue which zinger was better because the fact is that President Obama got in two really fantastic zingers, and Mitt Romney delivered ZERO.
My favorite zinger from tonight: foreign policy (1980), social policy (1950) and economic policy (1920).
Thank you to Talking Points Memo for so quickly posting the best zinger of the debate, which of course was delivered by President Obama to Mitt Romney:
Govenor Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that al-Qaeda's a threat because a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geo-political threat facing America, you said Russia. Not al-Qaeda; you said, Russia. And the 1980's are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War has been over for twenty years. But Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s. You say that you're not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq but just a few weeks ago you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. And the challenge we have, I know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong.
Okay, so the question is, what new hashtag is going to be invented tonight?
Okay, somebody clue me in. What's #NoUncleFluffy? Please let me in on the joke.
The other great zinger of the night: Battleships, horses and bayonets.
It will not happen. The budget we're talking about, is not reducing our military spending; it's maintaining it. But, I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mention the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities? And so when I sit down with the Secretary of the Navy, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we determine how are we going to be best able to meet all of our defense needs in a way that also keeps faith with our troops; that also makes sure that our Veterans have the kind of support that they need when they come home, and that is not reflected in the kind of budget that you're putting forward because it just doesn't work. And we visited the website quite a bit, and it still doesn't work.
In the Twitter Universe, the hastag
#horsesandbayonets is trending.
UPDATE 2: I asked
Tracy Knauss to create an image of Romney, a horse, a bayonet and a battleship,
and he did!