Some Key Romney debate points for Hawaii:

by Andrew Walden

Here are seven debate take-aways on Romney policies which will directly affect Hawaii:

1) Romney will not cut military spending, 18% of Hawaii’s economy.

ROMNEY: The president's reelected you'll see dramatic cuts to our military. The secretary of defense has said these would be even devastating.

I will not cut our commitment to our military. I will keep America strong and get America's middle class working again.

2) Romney pledges to make N America energy independent, this will support Hawaii efforts to introduce Natural Gas and lower electric rates.

ROMNEY: Energy is critical, and the president pointed out correctly that production of oil and gas in the U.S. is up. But not due to his policies. In spite of his policies.

Mr. President, all of the increase in natural gas and oil has happened on private land, not on government land. On government land, your administration has cut the number of permits and licenses in half. If I'm president, I'll double them, and also get the -- the oil from offshore and Alaska. And I'll bring that pipeline in from Canada.

3) Romney will end Obama’s $90B in support for corrupt wind and solar scammers. This will save the people of Lanai and Molokai and help plug the hole in the General Fund caused by alt-energy tax credits.

ROMNEY: And in one year, you (Obama) provided $90 billion in breaks to the green energy world.

Now, I like green energy as well, but that's about 50 years' worth of what oil and gas receives. And you say Exxon and Mobil. Actually, this $2.8 billion goes largely to small companies, to drilling operators and so forth.

But, you know, if we get that tax rate from 35 percent down to 25 percent, why that $2.8 billion is on the table. Of course it's on the table. That's probably not going to survive you get that rate down to 25 percent.

But don't forget, you put $90 billion, like 50 years' worth of breaks, into -- into solar and wind, to Solyndra and Fisker and Tester and Ener1. I mean, I had a friend who said you don't just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers, all right? So this -- this is not -- this is not the kind of policy you want to have if you want to get America energy secure. …

$90 billion, that would have -- that would have hired 2 million teachers. $90 billion.

And these businesses, many of them have gone out of business, I think about half of them, of the ones have been invested in have gone out of business. A number of them happened to be owned by people who were contributors to your campaigns.

4) Romney will allow parents of autistic and learning disabled ‘I.D.E.A.’ children to have vouchers so they no longer need to hassle with the DoE to get the education their children need. And the DoE will no longer feel obligated to spend $3M a year suing them.

ROMNEY: I want the kids that are getting federal dollars from IDEA or Title I -- these are disabled kids or -- or -- or poor kids or -- or lower-income kids, rather, I want them to be able to go to the school of their choice.

So all federal funds, instead of going to the -- to the state or to the school district, I'd have go, if you will, follow the child and let the parent and the child decide where to send their -- their -- their student.

5) Romney will Keep Federal Pressure for Reform on Hawaii DoE

ROMNEY: Well, the primary responsibility for education is -- is, of course, at the state and local level. But the federal government also can play a very important role. And I -- and I agree with Secretary Arne Duncan, he's -- some ideas he's put forward on Race to the Top, not all of them, but some of them I agree with and -- and congratulate him for pursuing that. The federal government can get local and -- and state schools to do a better job.

6) Romney will end Obamacare, saving Hawaii from the HMSA/Abercrombie Health Exchange, protecting Prepaid, and introducing competition into Hawaii’s monopolized medical insurance market.

ROMNEY: … number one, preexisting conditions are covered under my plan. Number two, young people are able to stay on their family plan. That's already offered in the private marketplace. You don't have to have the government mandate that for that to occur.

But let's come back to something the president and I agree on, which is the key task we have in health care is to get the cost down so it's more affordable for families. And then he has as a model for doing that a board of people at the government, an unelected board, appointed board, who are going to decide what kind of treatment you ought to have.

7) Romney will protect Medicare against the $716B in cuts enacted by Obama. This will make it easier for doctors to keep practicing medicine in Hawaii and will help keep Hawaii hospitals solvent.

ROMNEY: If the president were to be reelected you're going to see a $716 billion cut to Medicare. You'll have 4 million people who will lose Medicare Advantage. You'll have hospital and providers that'll no longer accept Medicare patients.

I'll restore that $716 billion to Medicare.

ABC: Debate Transcript

Hawaii Republican Party Chairman David Chang's Statement on the Presidential Debate

News Release from Hawaii Republican Party

Honolulu, Hawaii - Hawaii Republican Party Chairman David Chang issued the following statement regarding last nights' Presidential debate held in Denver, Colorado:

"After much anticipation, the American people were finally given a chance to cut through the campaign rhetoric, and compare the two Presidential candidates side by side. It was clear from the beginning that Governor Romney is the most well-versed, experienced, and confident candidate to lead our country through these challenging times. Party aside, Democrats and Republicans alike admitted that Mitt Romney made a decisive case of why he should be the next President of the United States."

"For the past four years, Hawaii's families have been struggling, making it obvious that we cannot continue down the same path we are on. HRP candidates, taking the lead from Governor Romney, are committing themselves to spending the Hawaii taxpayer's precious tax dollars with care by reducing government spending, and promoting policies that will expand growth in the private sector. Over the next few weeks, Hawaii's voters will have the opportunity to see and hear our candidates running for U.S. Senate, U. S. Congress, State House, State Senate and City Council on stage defending what they believe in. I encourage everyone to listen with open ears, this is the future of Hawaii and our country."

SELECTED COMMENTARY:

Bill Maher Tweets: “Obama made a lot of great points tonight. Unfortunately, most of them were for Romney.” “I can't believe I'm saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter.”

ROUND WON: Romney Seized Offense in Debate...

You Were Fighting For Obamacare, Not Jobs...

'The Path We’re Taking Is Not Working'...

FOURNIER: Cursed Obama Falls... “The president looked peeved and flat as he carried a conversation, for the first time in four years, with somebody telling him he’s wrong.”

Chris Matthews Freaks Out At Obama After Debate: Romney Was "Winning"

Obama the debater: Making Jimmy Carter look awesome

Andrew Sullivan: 'This was a disaster'... “Obama's meandering, weak, professorial arguments. But this was a disaster for the president for the key people he needs to reach, and his effete, wonkish lectures may have jolted a lot of independents into giving Romney a second look. Obama looked tired, even bored; he kept looking down; he had no crisp statements of passion or argument; he wasn't there. He was entirely defensive….”

WAPO: First thoughts from the first presidential debate

* The grimness of Barack Obama: There’s a fine line between sober/serious and grim/uninterested when it comes to the optics of these debates, and the incumbent was on the wrong side of it Wednesday night. Whether it was his habit of looking down for the majority of Romney’s answers or the pique he displayed when debate moderator Jim Lehrer interrupted him, Obama looked like he’d prefer to be somewhere else. In many ways what Obama seemed to be doing was taking on the persona he used to much success in 2008 when he was careful to show he was ready for the job. But, now that he has been in the job for four years, Obama’s demeanor came across far less well. Remember that voters see their vote for president as electing a leader not just a set of policy positions. And, Obama the glum is not the leader people want to vote for.

* Romney’s prepared competence…and more: If the main goal for Romney in this debate was to show he could stand on stage with the president and handle a wide-ranging discussion on economic policy, he did so with flying colors. Romney’s strength as a debater — as demonstrated during the GOP primaries — is his ability to recall massive amounts of information with little seeming effort and he did that time and again on Wednesday night. Romney didn’t just deliver a sort of hyper-competence, however. He was at times funny — his quip at the beginning of the debate about the president spending his wedding anniversary at a debate was a good one — and delivered plenty of quotable moments (“you pick the losers”, “you’re entitled to your own airplane and your own house”) that will be replayed again and again in the after-action analysis.

AARP to Obama: Don’t mention us again

Washington Examiner: President Obama invoked AARP to defend his health care law last night, prompting the influential group to release a statement telling him not to do that again.

“While we respect the rights of each campaign to make its case to voters, AARP has never consented to the use of its name by any candidate or political campaign,” the group posted in a statement. “AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates nor coordinate with any candidate or political party.”

Obama can perhaps be forgiven for thinking he could mention AARP given how they coordinated with him to pass Obamacare, which is a golden goose for the organization.

“Thanks to its cuts to Medicare Advantage, Obamacare is expected to expand the number of seniors buying “medigap” supplemental insurance plans,” The Washington Examiner explained in an editorial. “AARP controls 34 percent of the market for such plans. According to a 2011 House Ways and Means Committee report, AARP stands to make between $55 million and $166 million from Obamacare in 2014 alone.”

GORE BLAMES THE ALTITUDE!

PANIC: Camp O asks media's help going after Romney...

BROKAW: If Romney had performed that badly, 'it would have been over'...

Michael Moore: 'This is what happens when u pick John Kerry as your debate coach'...

RNC puts out new ad: 'The Smirk'...

will.i.am.: Its not over...

CNN POLL: Romney Annihilates...

Van Jones: 'Was Able To 'Out-Obama Obama'...