Obama anataka kubaki White House, Romney kapania kumng'oa

 Obama dismounts from Air Force One upon his arrival in Florida ahead of the debate on Monday

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama renewed their personal hostilities against each other last night, triggering explosive exchanges over foreign affairs in the final presidential debate.

A sarcastic U.S. president repeatedly patronised his Republican opponent, accusing him of being ‘all over the map’ on how to deal with the world, ‘wrong and reckless’ and in one taunt claimed that Romney thought of the naval forces and military force levels of being ‘like a game of Battleship’, mocking the challenger for wanting to bring back 'horses and bayonets' to the military.

But Romney held his own in the face of Obama's sustained assaults, working hard to establish his credentials as a sober and steady statesman with an obviously well-briefed analysis of world matters, from Iran to Poland to Mali.

The debate was divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate given two minutes to answer Schieffer's opening questions before the moderator followed up with further questions.

The CBS veteran took a tough line on both candidates, strictly enforcing time limits and denying each the chance to answer allegations presented by the other.

He closed the debate on a humorous note, saying: 'I'll leave you with the words of my mom, who said, "Go vote. It makes you feel big and strong."'

 Romney with his wife Ann and the family of his son Craig heading off to dinner on Sunday evening

Obama reads a briefing during his weekend getaway at Camp David

Romney plays with his grandson Miles while the family dines in Delray Beach, Florida

  

 The pair met again just six days after their brutal clash in Long Island last week

 

 Mitt Romney and Barack Obama locked horns in the third presidential debate in Boca Raton, Florida

Obama launched a series of negative assaults on Romney's relative inexperience

 A well-briefed Romney held up against the constant attacks on his policies

Both candidates seemed keen to divert the debate, which they had agreed should be devoted to foreign affairs, back towards domestic issues such as the economy and education.

Romney pointed out that the U.S. needs to maintain its economic strength if it is to remain politically dominated - and then took the opportunity to go on the offensive by attacking the weak recovery overseen by Obama over the past four years.

The President in return accused his rival of planning to cut education funding and implementing policies which would harm small businesses.

When Romney returned to the topic of education, promising to hire more staff as he said, 'I love teachers,' Schieffer pointed out: 'I think we all love teachers.'

 The debate was the third time the two candidates had met in the past week

 Michelle Obama in the audience in Boca Raton

The two wives were dressed in sombre tones compared to the hot pink they sported last week

Both men spent the weekend in rehearsals, the president at Camp David in Maryland and Romney in Florida. They paid brief visits to the debate hall in the hours before the start of the event.

Obama and Romney are locked in a close race in national opinion polls. For both men, the final days of the long campaign are likely to be a whirlwind of rallies in far-flung battleground states. 

 The two candidates shake hands with members of the audience at Lynn University

 The Romneys appeared happy and relaxed at the end of the hard-fought debate.

Romney clearly thought he had held his own as he thanked the audience at the end of the evening

 

Michelle Obama and Ann Romney joined their husbands on stage at the end of the final meeting

 The First Couple embraced in front of the eyes of the nation in Boca Raton

The televised debate brought no stop to other campaigning. Obama's campaign launched a television ad in Florida that said the President ended the war in Iraq and has a plan to do the same in Afghanistan, accusing Romney of opposing him on both.

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking in Canton, Ohio, emphasised differences between the two candidates on the war in Afghanistan.

'We will leave Afghanistan in 2014, period. They say it depends,' he said. 'Ladies and gentlemen, like everything with them, it depends. It depends on what day you find these guys.'

Romney's running mate, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, was in Colorado. 'We are in the midst of deciding the kind of country we're going to be, the kind of people we're going to be, for a generation,' he said.

Romney was attempting to establish his credibility on foreign policy, where he has little experience

Obama said that Romney's foreign policy was 'wrong and reckless and all over the map'

When it came to the matter of protecting Israel and preventing Iran, on the other hand, the two had some of their fiercest disagreements.

Romney said that Iran was 'four years closer to building a nuclear bomb', thanks to Obama's failure to slow down the secretive process.

He also accused the President of failing to be sufficiently close to Israel, promising: 'If I'm President of the United States - when I'm President of the United States - I will stand with Israel.'

But Obama was also keen to prove his own pro-Israel credentials, twice referring to the country as 'a true friend and our closest ally in the region'.

Many expected a huge showdown over the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi which killed the ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

Romney has in the past joined a chorus of Republican criticism over how the Obama administration has handled the September 11 raid - but the issue barely came up during the debate.

He briefly mentioned the assault, saying that America's 'hearts and minds' were with its victims, before moving to a broader assessment of the situation in the Middle East.

 Ann Romney takes her seat in front of the audience at Lynn University

The whole Romney family played games in a holding room ahead of the debate

The Romneys celebrate the end of debate season, accompanied by their large family

The important things in life: Romney demonstrates his affection for his grandson as Obama looks relieved

 President Obama meets Miles Romney on stage after the debate

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