Going Viral : Obama reminds us of Horses and Bayonets

Obama delivers 'Horses and Bayonets' one liner

If you've just watched 'The Patriot' with Mel Gibson, then you'll find President Obama's comments about Horses and Bayonets on tonight's final debate very amusing.

During the debate, the President and Governor Romney were arguing about the size of the U.S military. Often portrayed in films as a mighty force, projecting power around the world, we see the military primarily through the media, and not in actual fact, in action. However, besides this point, both candidates seemed to want to show that they were committed to a powerful military. The U.S in fact does have the most powerful military in the world (although it is not physically the largest in terms of troops), but it seemed that the amount of hardware and troops was more important to the Republican candidate than the President's vision for the military's future.

President Obama then criticized Romney's vision of the U.S military requiring a large force of Navy Ships, saying that it wasn't the strategy needed for a 21st century force. Then, he went on to compare Romney's ideas with "Horses and Bayonets", and the fact that they would not be useful in present times. The joke, it would seem, has gone viral on the web, as the comedic turn of phrase jump started what I thought was a rather dull debate until that point.

The media will likely take this phrase on in the coming days and I await an SNL interpretation of Horses and Bayonets vs tanks or other more modern military hardware. Now we've heard it all.