On the evening of October 3^rd, 2012 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, president Barack Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney debated about the economy, health care, and the role of government. Both Romney and Obama had similar views when it comes to education and exploring new sources of energy. As for the economy and taxation, not so much.

Obama believes the “resilience and determination of the American people has helpedAmericaget [its] jump start on rebuilding theU.S.” He supported his opinion by asserting that “over five months, 5 million jobs were created and the auto industry has made a comeback and housing has risen.” Obama’s plan is to invest in education and training, recreate new sources of energy and rebuildAmericaby reducing the deficit.

Conversely, Romney’s plan has five basic parts, which are: “[to] get energy independently (creates about 4 million jobs), open up more trade like Latin America, make sure people have the skills needed to succeed, get to a balanced budget, and champion small businesses (it’s the small businesses that create jobs in America).” In addition to his plan, Romney’s emphasized principle was that there will be no tax cut that adds to the deficit.

The debate’s most controversial topic was the economy. Obama believesAmericais doing best when the middle class is doing well. Romney believes lowering taxes and deductions will save and create jobs. As the debate progressed, Romney and Obama seemed to agree more on public policy, as both candidates proposed no changes to the Social Security system. As for health care and Medicare, they did not see eye to eye. Obama believes that in order to control Medicare, health care costs must be lowered.

Romney, on the other hand, believes that cutting money from health care will most affect future generations. Romney also has a plan “to raise health care benefits for families with lower income and lower health care benefits for higher class families.” The money that would be taken away from Medicare under Obama’s plan would be put back into Medicare under Romney’s authority. Romney believes this is the best thing for senior citizens. Obamacare lets its patients keep their own insurance and their own doctor, without allowing the insurance companies to become too controlling.

As the debate raged on, the economy was mentioned once again. Romney described the economy by saying “you can’t have a free market to work without regulations.” He wants regulations to be enforced, but he will also make sure that regulations are not excessive. Obama suggested that the “reason for such an economic crisis was prompted by reckless behavior across the border, such as loan officers giving citizens loans that they don’t qualify for. It made the entire system vulnerable.” Contrary to Romney’s plans, Obama suggests tighter government regulations.

Towards the end of the debate, both candidates were asked to provide their thoughts on the federal government. Obama stated the “federal government’s most basic function is to keep the American people safe.” The federal government has the ability to open up frameworks for the American people to succeed. After Obama’s feelings on the federal government, Romney believes that the federal government’s job is to protect and stand by the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Protecting the lives and the liberty of the American people is their number one priority.

This was the first debate of the campaign and the candidates still have two more presidential debates and one vice presidential. The next debate is the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden (Obama) and Paul Ryan (Romney), scheduled for October 11^th, 2012 atCentreCollege inDanvilleKentucky.