- Ad tries to claim Romney would have kept 30,000 troops in Iraq
- Obama claims to have brought 30,000 home from Afghanistant - yet double that remain
- Tonight's foreign policy event will be final debate before Election Day
- Latest national polls show Romney just ahead as disastrous performance by Obama in first debate lingers
- Moderator will be long-time CBS newsman Bob Schieffer
- Obama likely to highlight his successful order to kill Osama bin Laden
By Toby Harnden In Boca Raton, Florida
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President Barack Obama's campaign today released an attack ad painting his rival Mitt Romney as a warmonger just hours before the pair clash on foreign policy in the third and final TV debate.
Obama previewed his attacks on Romney at their clash in Boca Raton, Florida with an ad that portrays him as an anti-war figure, massaging the facts about his movement of troops in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
'A decade of war that cost us dearly. And now for president, a clear choice: President Obama ended the Iraq War,' the ad says.
Scroll down to watch the ad
On the attack: The ad attempts to laud Obama's military achievements during the last four years
Warmonger? Obama claims that Romney would have left American troops in Iraq - but fails to mention the President himself tried to keep 10,000 there
'Mitt Romney would have left 30,000 troops there and called bringing them home 'tragic'. Obama's brought 30,000 soldiers back from Afghanistan and has a responsible plan to end the war. Romney calls it Obama's biggest mistake. It's time to stop fighting over there and start rebuilding here'
In fact, Obama tried to negotiate with the Iraq government for 10,000 troops to stay in the country. It was only because talks collapsed that all troops were withdrawn - under an agreement brokered by President George W. Bush.
Obama has brought back 30,000 troops from Afghanistan but these were the 30,000 'surge' troops he ordered there in December 2009. Current troops levels are about 68,000 - more than twice when Obama entered the White House.
The big stage: Lynn University students serve as stand-ins during final preparations for the debate
Practice run: Stand-ins for US President Obama, right, and Romney, left, and moderator Bob Scheiffer, center, participate in a rehearsal a day ahead of the final presidential debate at Lynn University
Romney currently leads by a wafer-thin 0.3 per cent nationally in the RealClearPolitics poll of averages.
Obama is down seven in the Gallup tracking poll, down two in the Rasmussen poll and has seen his leads in Florida and Virginia disappear and his Ohio advantage whittled down to almost nothing.The latest NBC/WSJ poll, which had Obama three points ahead before the debates, now puts the two candidates dead level on 47 points each among likely voters with six per cent undecided.
Although most pundits and post-debate polls have Obama the advantage over Romney following the second debate, he has seen no improvement in the polls and the momentum appears to remain with the Republican nominee.
The final presidential debate will focus on foreign policy - a traditional Republican strength that should be an advantage for Obama this time around because of the demise of Osama bin laden last May and the end of the Iraq war.
Indeed, Obama has served notice that he will play the bin Laden card to full advantage, saying in his speech at the Al Smith dinner in New York last week: 'Spoiler alert: We got bin Laden.'
Stunt double: Lynn University student Eric Gooden, a stand-in for President Obama, walks off stage during final preparations for Monday's presidential debate
At the vice-presidential debate in Kentucky, it took Vice President Joe Biden one minute and seven seconds into the first answer of the debate - to a question about Libya - to bring up bin Laden.
Libya, however, presents Obama with some problems.
Although Romney got tangled up in the weeds of whether Obama had referred to the Benghazi attack as a 'terrorist act,' during their last bout, the death of the first U.S. ambassador to be murdered in the line of duty since 1979 and the intelligence and security failures that led to it make the president very vulnerable.
In addition, it has become clear that the White House's initial insistence that the attack was a result of protests about an anti-Islam video made in California were flat wrong - and possibly part of an official cover-up.
Dinner date: Romney, and his wife Ann, order dinner for their family at BurgerFi for on Sunday, one day before the last presidential debate
One last debate: Romney and Obama, pictured during last week's debate at Hofstra University, will get together for the third and final time before Election Day
Setting the stage: A worker adjusts the backdrop on stage in preparation for Monday's presidential debate between Obama and Romney
Presidential: Obama is pictured yesterday during a conference call from Camp David
Cleaning house: A worker vacuums the stage as the set for Monday's presidential debate is prepared
Prep: Gaffer Gregg Wolf adjusts set lights on the spin corner in the media center for the Romney campaign
Despite his mistakes, and a disastrous visit to Britain in August when he managed to offend people by criticising the UK Olympics effort and was mocked by Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Romney has become much more fluent in foreign policy matters.
Before the two candidates first debated on October 3rd, Obama held a 15-point lead over Romney on the question of who was more capable of dealing with foreign affairs.
After Obama's lackluster performance, a Pew Research Center poll found that the gap had closed to just four points.
On the eve of their final presidential debate, Romney and Obama - through their allies - squared off Sunday over which candidate would best protect the nation's interests and security abroad with just two weeks left in a race that polls show is increasingly tight.
Calm before the storm? President Obama reads briefing material while meeting with advisers inside his cabin at Camp David in Maryland
Leading the discussion: Longtime CBS newsman Bob Schieffer will be the moderator of the final debate
Sunshine state: Florida's Lynn University will host Monday night's debate
Appealing to viewers: The debate will be one of the last chances for the candidates to vie for undecided voters
Finishing touches: The debate is expected to focus on foreign policy
Getting set: An Obama campaign employee works on the set for the spin corner for the final presidential debate between the president and Mitt Romney at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida
Both candidates stayed largely out of view, preparing vigorously for their face-off focused on foreign policy.
Republicans accused Obama of leaking word of possible negotiations with Iran in pursuit of political gain.
Democrats shot back, arguing that Romney and his party are the ones playing politics with national security.
The haggling played out on Sunday news shows at a critical time for Romney and Obama, whose marathon race has become exceedingly close as it lurches toward its November conclusion.
Early and absentee voting are already under way in many of the most competitive states, upping the pressure on both candidates to lock in supporters.
Romney paused his preparations to attend church with his wife Sunday morning and to watch his traveling press corps play touch football against his senior staff.
Steely-eyed: Mitt and Ann Romney were in Florida over the weekend, attending church on Sunday and preparing for the third and final debate on Monday
Drawing a crowd: President Obama is pictured speaking to supporters at a campaign rally in Fairfax, Virginia on Friday
The former Massachusetts governor presided over a coin toss on the beach, then gathered his aides to cheer them on.
'That's right, don't worry about injuries guys, this counts. Win,' he joked.
Romney didn't talk politics, refusing to answer a question about whether, if elected, he would be open to direct talks with Iran.
Questions from reporters about the new poll and Monday's debate likewise went unanswered.
Obama arrived Friday at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, where he's been holding 12-hour practice sessions, starting with policy discussions at 10am.
Obama and his team hold mock debates in the evening in a set designed to look like the one in Boca Raton.
Master of ceremonies: Romney organized a game of flag football between the pool reporters who cover his campaign and his staffers
Strategy: The group let loose Sunday afternoon on Delray Beach
"If Obama was a Mormon wouldn't FOX and the GOP & Tea Party be hammering him for his religion?" === Nah. People only hammer Obama because he lies about his religion. Romney has no problem admitting he is Mormon.
- That is me , in the center, 22/10/2012 18:34
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