Monday night was the final debate of the 2012 presidential race.  After two debates, most topics had already been discussed between the two candidates, so some of the same talking points from previous debates were simply recited.  However, there were still a few subjects worth further discussion.

When it came to China, Romney said that on “day one” he would label China as “currency manipulators.”  This means that China is artificially strengthening the American dollar in order to make Chinese currency cheaper, therefore increasing the competitiveness of Chinese exports.  However, many economists believe that this is an old issue and any talk about China being currency manipulators at the present time is political rhetoric.

In fact, the Peterson Institute for International Economics credits pressure from the Bush administration in 2005 for stopping China from heavily intervening in the foreign-currency market.  Since then, China’s currency has appreciated steadily against the dollar.

The candidates did find common ground on some issues.  One of which was Obama’s controversial use of drones, unmanned combat planes, which Romney said he agrees with “entirely.” Many people are against the use of drones because of the civilian deaths that they can cause and possible war ethics violations.

The two candidates also agreed that the United States should stand with Israel, but neither directly answered moderator Bob Schieffer’s question of if they would consider an attack on Israel as an attack on the United States.

In a poll conducted by The DePaulia, only 5 percent said they believe that Mitt Romney would be able to defend his foreign policies better than Obama.  Many believe that Romney does better in the campaign when the conversation is focused on the economy and domestic issues.

While last night’s debate was supposed to be about foreign policy, there were a few times when the conversation went more toward domestic issues.  The candidates sparred over how Mitt Romney would have handled the auto industry. Obama said that Romney would not have given any governmental assistance to the industry and Romney accused him of lying. In Mitt Romney’s opinion article in the New York Times back in November 2008, he said that it “is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition.”  

It terms of the debate itself, this was the first time when both candidates were kept to equal speaking time; both candidates were able to speak for about 41 minutes.