Uzbek Audience Watches and Reflects on the U.S. Presidential Election Debates

10/25/2012

Uzbek Audience Watches the U.S. Presidential Election Debates. (U.S. Embassy photo)

On October 23, the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs section (PAS) organized a screening of the final U.S. presidential election debate (recorded the previous day). Public Affairs Officer (PAO) Brian Penn welcomed alumni of U.S. government sponsored programs and Information Resource Center (IRC) visitors, giving a brief outline of U.S. presidential election debates from the past. He recalled the most famous debates, ones speculated to have influenced the results of presidential elections, such as the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The 30 person audience watched the candidates – Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney – cover foreign policy issues including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program, instability due to the Arab Spring, aggression in Syria, trade policies with China, the outsourcing of U.S. jobs, and more. After the debates, PAO Brian Penn and Joseph Bowler from the Drug Enforcement Administration took questions from the audience to explain some of the issues discussed at the debates and gave insights into the upcoming presidential election.

The U.S. Embassy will hold an Election Day event on the morning of November 7 (the night of November 6 in the U.S.) to follow the election night returns in their entirety.