U.S. presidential debate finale expected to draw wide attention

In a few hours, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney are due to start their third and last presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, which will be focused on the U. S. foreign policy. Analysts expected the debate finale to draw wide attention from both the American voters and the media, given the neck-to-neck presidential race right now. FINALE OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE In the first presidential debate on Oct. 3, Obama's lame performance shocked most people, in sharp contrast with Romney's commanding delivery. The rather surprising development wiped away Obama's once comfortable lead in the presidential race and shifted the momentum to the side of Romney. In a bid to alter the dynamics, Obama, in the second debate, took to the combat mode, launching aggressive attacks on Romney. The strategy seemed to have worked, with most observers agreeing that Obama, more or less, outperformed his rival. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday, Obama is now tied with his challenger Romney on public support, as they will head into the third and final presidential debate. Among likely voters, the candidates are now tied at 47 percent for both in a race that appears on track to be one of the closest in U.S. history, said the Wall Street Journal. Traditionally, foreign policy is low on Americans' list of concerns. However, given the dead-heat presidential race, both candidates are under enormous pressure to secure a triumph in the debate finale. Kevin Ross, president of the debate host Lynn University, told Xinhua in an interview that because this debate will be the last face-to-face exchange between the two candidates before the Nov. 6 election, it is bound to draw unprecedented attention. The students of his university are "thrilled" to watch the debate on Monday night, he said. Indeed, every presidential debate has also been a media war, and this time is surely no exception. A team of Xinhua reporters immediately felt the air of tension after arriving in Lynn University on Sunday. In the news filing center, hundreds of seats have been neatly set up for reporters, while Romney and Obama campaigns were busying installing their respective media spin room designed for their strategists to opine after the debate. Max Rose, a media official of the debate's organizing committee, told Xinhua that there are about 3,500 credentialed members of media to cover the third debate, with nearly 800 foreign reporters. Both numbers are the biggest of the three debate. FOCUS OF FOREIGN POLICY DEBATE The moderator of the debate is Bob Schieffer, the 75-year-old veteran anchor of CBS News. He has outlined a number of topics: America's role in the world, the war in Afghanistan, the changing Middle East, the Iranian nuclear crisis, and how to deal with the rise of China. Undoubtedly, the two candidates will spar again on the attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, which killed U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Romney is expected to continue his relentless attack on Obama for his controversial response to the assault. It will be interesting to watch how Obama rebutted his opponent's accusations. Foreign policy is generally considered a strong area for Obama, given his first-hand experience in policy-making and his achievements including the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. However, Romney who is reportedly under intense preparation with his foreign policy advisors, also should not be under- estimated. Despite the common prediction that the debate will see some fierce clashing, many analysts argued that the foreign policy agendas put forward by Obama and Romney are not that different in essence. Of course, Romney as the presidential challenger with few strings attached, is generally considered and also be able to be more hard-line on foreign policy. But the incumbent Obama has to be reasonably more cautious as he needs to take into consideration of the potential consequences of his campaign rhetoric on the real world. Furthermore, some experts believed the more important thing for both candidates is scoring points with viewers on presentation, rather than the substances of their foreign policy.