Mission Local covered the final presidential debate live on the ground in the Mission and patrolled the conversation online, collecting the night’s best debate tweets in and around the Mission District.
The political event had a lot of competition from the other final game in town Monday night: the final National League Championship Series game went to the San Francisco Giants. If you were online, you know San Franciscans were tweeting about both.
Here are some of the more clever Giants/debate mashups:
Debate < Giants Game
— Mîtchêll AyeeEmßee (@CaliSwerving818) October 23, 2012
Twitter you are dropping the ball on this debate. Just like the Cardinals in that sportsball game.
— Finch Linden (@finchlinden) October 23, 2012
Who’s performing at the halftime show of this debate?
— Alex Willen (@Willenation) October 23, 2012
I’m going to stop pretending to watch the debate. There’s a game on and an episode of the Walking Dead to be watched. #priorities
— amychinny (@amychinny) October 23, 2012
I just can’t watch some boring #debate when my boys are killing #redbirds.blahblahblah<rahrahrah #GoGiants
— Shrimp Smith (@shr0mp) October 23, 2012
I really hope Giants win the debate tonight. I’d hate to see Romney walk away with the Stanley cup. #4moreyears
— spongemonkey (@spongemonkey) October 23, 2012
This giants game is so hyped that my debate tweets might seem like trolling rather than self-indulgence
— brain-dead ghoulston (@hqnb) October 22, 2012
While many online told us about their dual attempt to watch the Giants beat the Cardinals and the sparring match between Mitt Romney and President Obama, most just stuck to politics.
People in the Mission seem to be really pleased by Obama’s debate performance tonight.
— John C. Fox (@djembe) October 23, 2012
John C. Fox was overwhelmingly right: those tweeting were either strongly supported Obama or were skeptical of both candidates.
@jessnaudziunas Yes of course! Mitt’s a liar and O is voice of reason.
— Steve Williams (@absinthegeek) October 23, 2012
@jessnaudziunas all they do is lie, no point in hearing what they gotta say if it isnt true
— Mîtchêll AyeeEmßee (@CaliSwerving818) October 23, 2012
@jessnaudziunas he’s made clear pointed critiques of Romney’s lack of experience, and shown that Romney agrees with his own policies.
— Jason McDaniel (@ValisJason) October 23, 2012
@jessnaudziunas I think Obama’s angle that we live in a global neighborhood is spot on. we can’t assume the role of boss ‘just because’…
— glenn.arango (@arango) October 23, 2012
One too-young-to-vote teen caught our eye early in the debate when she asked her Twitter friends to quiet down about politics. We asked her if, despite her age, she had an opinion — Romney or Obama?
@jessnaudziunas I’m not old enough to vote, so my opinion isn’t needed, therefore. I don’t watch it or care about it. Til I turn 18.
— N E S H A ‘ ✌ (@PS_iadoreyou) October 23, 2012
@jessnaudziunas well, If I could vote, it would definitely be for Obama.
— N E S H A ‘ ✌ (@PS_iadoreyou) October 23, 2012
@jessnaudziunas he actually thinks about our country as a whole and he understands the struggle. Because the struggle is REAL. lol
— N E S H A ‘ ✌ (@PS_iadoreyou) October 23, 2012
Near the end of the debate, a few questions arose from Twitter concerning the validity of some of the last-minute claims from the candidates. @Talda took issue with this quote from Romney:
MR. ROMNEY: The first — the first — and we kept our schools number one in the nation. They’re still number one today. And the principles that we’ve put in place — we also gave kids not just a graduation exam that — that determined whether they were up to the skills needed to — to be able to compete, but also, if they graduated in the top quarter of their class, they got a four-year tuition-free ride at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning.
@jessnaudziunas I’m not sure but I am interested in that education claim from Romney.
— talda (@talda) October 23, 2012
Here’s what fact-checkers say about Romney’s record on education improvements in Massachusetts.
Josh Hicks from the Washington Post —
As he did during a previous debate, Romney pointed out that Massachusetts students led the nation in standardized test scores for math and reading while he was governor. He is correct, but many educational experts credit the scores to a comprehensive education overhaul that the state began a decade before the Republican presidential candidate became governor. The president mentioned that the reforms pre-dated Romney’s term.
And Howard Blume from the Los Angeles Times —
Student achievement in Massachusetts is arguably first in the country based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test given to a sample of students nationwide. These are the test results to which Romney was referring. Massachusetts also has been praised for its rigorous academic standards. The state has the advantage of greater education funding than many states and, compared with California, for example, has a less challenging student population in terms of family income, parent education levels and native English speakers.
On the lighter side, there were a few photos from debate watchers on the couch. Here’s one that sums up the night for many San Franciscans, from Instagram user jari_lyn:
Check out our live coverage of the debates here. As the 2012 presidential election draws near, Mission Local will continue its live political coverage with full election results and Mission District reporting.