THE MR. MITT, BARACK, AND BOB SHOW

Debate in a nutshell: Mr. Mitt's obvious goal was to avoid stepping on his honker. This he pretty much did, to Barack's consternation and Fox Noise's obvious relief. To attain his goal, Mr. Mitt had to pretend he hadn't held different positions in the past, but he has become pretty adept at this so it wasn't much of a challenge. He also had to agree with Barack on many matters. So the conclusion is that foreign policy under a Mr. Mitt Administration wouldn't be all that different than it has been under the Barack Administration.

Mr. Mitt does think that through a combination of toughness and reasonable persuasion he can bring the different anti-government factions in a place like Syria together. Some might argue that such naiveté is reminiscent of the Bush-Cheney years and therefore a disqualifier for the position of Commander in Chief. Supporters of Mr. Mitt are unlikely, however, to be so critical.

Perhaps the most perplexing comment by Mr. Mitt came in his closing statement. He briefly praised the Greatest Generation−that Tom Brokaw-created fantasy about the supposedly pretty near perfect generation that survived the Great Depression and won World War II, never mind about Jim Crow, post-war McCarthyism, and stuff like that. And then he said something to the effect that this election would mark a passing of the torch to a new generation. It was like the last fifty years were of little import.

Hey Mitt, did'ja hear about the '60s, baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, computers, a guy named Bill Clinton who became President in 1992? The Greatest Generation faded from the scene some time ago. A lot of history has occurred since the 1940s, and one gets the impression you don't quite have a handle on it.

One last thing: Bob Schieffer, you done pretty good. But then Mr. Mitt wasn't the argumentative pushy guy of debates one and two.