Top 5 final-debate memes: 'Horses and Bayonets,' and more
Inevitably, a few choice phrases and images from Monday night's debate took on an internet life of their own
![President Obama mentions "horses and bayonets" and the internet immediately responds with memes, Twitter hashtags and spoof accounts.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UL7qTTWZypqQffJpNuXHgG-415-80.jpg)
In a debate season that's brought us Unemployed Big Bird, Binders Full of Women, and Laughing Joe Biden, it would have been anticlimactic had some word or phrase from the final debate not acquired instant meme status. The foreign-policy debate didn't disappoint, lighting up Twitter and Tumblr with talk of obsolete weapons, the classic strategy game Battleship, and other quickly viral — and likely quickly forgotten — internet sensations. Here are a few of the cultural moments born of the final face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney:
1. Horses and Bayonets
When Romney criticized Obama for his plans to shrink the U.S. military budget, the GOP contender brought up some surprising data points: "Our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917," and our Air Force has fewer planes than at any time since 1947. (See The Week's fact check of this claim.) Obama was ready: "Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets" — and a meme was born. The hashtag #horsesandbayonets and spoof accounts took over Twitter, and someone set up a Horses and Bayonets Tumblr. Conservatives say that Obama alienated shipbuilding ports in key states like Virginia and New Hampshire. Who won that exchange, asks Oskar Garcia at The Christian Science Monitor. "The internet, of course."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Obama sunk Romney's Battleship
Obama's response to Romney's ship-tallying exercise — "the question is not a game of Battleship, where we’re counting ships — also yielded a second meme: "Obama just sank Romney's battleship." The taunt tickled Obama supporters, but Romney backers got in some choice counter-jabs: "Obama tells Romney this isn't a game of Battleship," tweeted "Conservative Twitter Baron" Matt Dawson. "I wish It was! I'm sick of playing the game of 'Sorry' for the last four years."
3. Things Romney Loves
One of moderator Bob Schieffer's best lines came when — after Romney had just gushed, twice, that "I love teachers" — he gently steered the conversation back to foreign policy by telling the GOP candidate: "I think we all love teachers." Romney's sentiments got people thinking about all the other things he's declared his "love" for, including Big Bird — the comment that sparked the original 2012 debate meme. "Teachers, Big Bird, lamp... Romney always hurts the ones he loves," tweets The Guardian's Ana Marie Cox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
4. The '80s called....
After Obama noted that, earlier this year, Romney had called Russia, not Al Qaeda, our greatest geopolitical threat, the president unleashed his other zinger of the night: "The 1980's are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back — because the Cold War has been over for 20 years. But governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policy of the 1950s, and the economic policies of the 1920s." Boom, "that '1980s called' line was the best line of the 3 debates methinks," tweeted The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza. "Does your healthcare plan cover burns, Mitt Romney?" added Kentucky sports journalist Thomas Beisner. Not everyone relished the riposte: "The 1980s called... they want their cliches back," tweeted Brad Walsh.
5. Sweating Romney
Speaking of the 1980s, Romney forgot some sage advice from a Reagan-era antiperspirant ad: "'Never let 'em see you sweat,'" says The Hollywood Reporter. "Throughout the 90-minute debate, the former Massachusetts governor was seen with perspiration on his face, particularly his upper lip." The internet seized on his glistening visage. "Romney looks like he's been manning a BBQ for 3 hours," tweeted Jessi Klein. This is epic "sweating, Nixonian style," said Van Jones on CNN. "You could bottle Mitt Romney's upper lip sweat and sell it for $4.50 in the Trump Tower gift shop," tweeted Chris Rock. Come on, guys, added Lisa McIntire. "Romney didn't have flop sweat. He had victory shine."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How Black organizations quickly pivoted and mobilized for Kamala Harris
In the spotlight Harris has a shot at being the first Black woman to lead the Democratic ticket
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published