DENVER – In the first debate of the fall campaign, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended himself Wednesday night against charges from President Obama that his tax-cut plan would favor the wealthy.
At the same time, Romney appeared to take more moderate stances on issues from green energy to Social Security.
The Republican challenger, offering sharper answers than Obama and seizing control of the debate at several points, accused Obama of promising more “trickle-down government” if he is reelected this November.
For his part, Obama tried to bury his opponent in the very thing that Romney is said to crave: “data.” Repeatedly referring to arguments offered by his leading surrogate, former President Clinton, Obama tried to rebut Romney’s claim that he could balance the budget while cutting tax rates across the board and increasing military spending by $2 billion.
“Math, common sense and our history shows us that's not a recipe for job growth,” Obama said.
Meantime, Romney spoke warmly about green energy — an Obama staple — and indicated that tax breaks for the major oil companies would probably fall by the wayside if he is elected president. He also said that he and Obama had similar ideas about Social Security and would largely avoid restructuring the program, even though he has suggested that it could well be necessary to raise the retirement age.
