The Associated Press
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Presidents Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are shifting their debate on foreign policy toward domestic issues that are foremost on voters' minds.
Obama turned questions during Monday's third and final debate around and made them about jobs and the economy. Romney, too, pivoted from foreign policy questions to his five-point domestic agenda for jobs and the economy.
At one point, debate moderator Bob Schieffer seemed exasperated. "Let me get back to foreign policy," he pleaded.
Obama answered one foreign policy question by talking about his education initiatives and criticized Romney's tenure as Massachusetts governor.
Romney, too, detoured stateside. When asked about America's role in the world, he shifted the talk to college students who are graduating without jobs.
Obama took an aggressive posture toward rival Mitt Romney in Monday's debate, at one point saying the Republican's policy proposals are so outdated "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back."
After Romney voiced concerns about the persistent threat of al-Qaida in the Middle East, Obama noted Romney had once called Russia the nation's gravest geopolitical threat.
Obama said Romney's policy positions were rooted in the 1980s and his views on social issues are rooted in the 1950s.
Romney said he wouldn't have "rose-colored glasses" toward Russian leader Vladimir Putin and chided Obama for suggesting he would have greater flexibility toward Russia after the election.
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