On October 16, Hofstra University hosts the second 2012 Presidential Debate, in the town hall format, where undecided voters will query President Obama and Governor Romney. What question would you ask the candidates?

In the debate last night, President Obama said, "Four years ago I promised to end the war in Iraq and I did."

This isn't how I remember it. In 2008, President Bush negotiated the withdrawal of US troops with the Iraqi government. President Obama actually tried keep 10,000 troops in Iraq past 2011.

How did he end the war in Iraq?

I would ask each candidate how they are going to deal with the upcoming laws that are already on the books regarding sequestration, the 2% Social Security payroll tax cut expiration and the Bush tax cut expiration at the end of the year.

If President Obama is reelected he'll have a slight majority in the Senate and a Republican House that has shown it is unwilling to work with him. How will he deal with these laws?

I would ask the same of Governor Romney, assuming that if he wins, he just might have a slight majority in both the Senate and House. What would he do?

I'd ask them both this question...

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." To what extent do you agree with that principle? Do you agree with the large number of Americans who believe the TSA (and many other agencies) violate that principle?

A question on Social Security...

When I pay money to Social Security, that money is either sent to a recipient of Social Security or loaned to the government to be spent on something else.

The Clinton administration's budget of 2000 said about these loans, "They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures." - 2000 Budget, Analytic Perspectives, p. 337

There are over $2.6 trillion of these "assets" that Social Security is depending on. With this in mind, do you think Social Security is fundamentally sound?

Thank you for adding me.

Personally, I'd like to ask Romney the same question he (and his campaign team) been asked several times before: Which deductions and tax loop holes does he intend to cut and close to balance the budget. The question always seems to be avoided by stating something vague, or by saying there's not enough time to list them at that moment. Well, since this has been asked before, I think he should come prepared with a simple list. While hypothetical excuse might be that people won't know exactly what he's referring to, I don't think that should be valid. We live in a day and age where you can read any legislature online word for word, and if someone doesn't understand it, I'm sure there will be someone they can ask...

In the very least...they could ask the Branch community and we'll be more than happy to explain it =)

Question: what threat is posed to our national infrastructure/security by cyber breaches? What policies/programs do you propose to offset any threat?

Scare tactic version: "Do you fear a hypothetical 'digital Pearl Harbor'?"

Here is my question to both candidates:
How do you sanction a war with Iran on allege nuclear weapon capabilities, when Iran has never started a war with any country for the last 300 years, and has always denied a current nuclear weapons program? How does your statement compare with North Korea, who does have nuclear weapons and yet what has the US done to stop their nuclear program?
How do you justify attacking one country and not the other?

Good question. An alternate might be: Iran has been on the verge of creating a nuclear weapon for 28 years, according to U.S. intelligence and media reports. If our intelligence has been wrong on Iran for 28 years, is current intelligence on Iran credible? Is it enough to justify an attack?

If Mitt Romney answers, a good follow up would be to ask if he has seen any of these intelligence reports personally.

Looks like DoD is going with the Pearl Harbor analogy after all: nytimes.com