Many pundits were quick to point out Monday that many of Mitt Romney's foreign-policy positions were awfully similar to President Obama's.

REUTERS/Joe Skipper

n the final presidential debate Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida, Mitt Romney more than once agreed with President Obama on issues of foreign policy and national security. The GOP nominee seemed to endorse the president's policy positions on aiding rebels in Syria, maintaining a strong relationship with Israel, and tightening sanctions on Iran, among other things. Indeed, the debate, which was supposed to focus exclusively on foreign policy, veered for long minutes into a rehashing of the two candidates' disagreements over domestic policy, perhaps because voters are more concerned about the lackluster economy. Romney's notably soft tack on foreign policy stood in stark contrast to the aggressive posture he took in the first two debates, as well as his comments on the campaign trail. And it drew surprise from conservatives and liberals alike on Twitter:

Romney using kid gloves ag Obama tonight--WHY?!

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 23, 2012

Look, if nobody wants to have a foreign policy debate, let's just not have one.

— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) October 23, 2012

Here's the truth: The differences between Romney and Obama on foreign policy are more tonal than policy-specific. #lynndebate

— The Fix (@TheFix) October 23, 2012

This is basically bland Romney trying not to create any controversy

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) October 23, 2012

It's actually smart for Mitt to talk economy, since that's what voters actually care about.

— AdamSerwer (@AdamSerwer) October 23, 2012

Romney strategy seems to be, don't make any policy decisions tonight, and don't disagree with many of Obama's forpolicy decisions

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) October 23, 2012

Is anyone counting the number of times Romney says his position is the same as the President’s? #debate

— Brian Solomon (@Brian_Solomon) October 23, 2012