Obama: The military also has fewer "horses and bayonets"

Obama responds to Romney's attack that the Navy has fewer ships than it did in 1916

Published October 23, 2012 3:30AM (EDT)

After Mitt Romney went on the attack about how the Navy has fewer ships than it did in 1916, Obama countered that the military also has fewer "horses and bayonets."

“I think Governor Romney maybe hasn’t spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916,” Obama said. “Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater; nuclear submarines."

Obama added: "And so the question is not a game of 'Battleship' where we're counting ships. It's: What are our capabilities?"


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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2012 Elections 2012 Presidential Debates Barack Obama Horses And Bayonets Mitt Romney U.s. Military