President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney face off for the last time in tonight’s foreign policy debate with starkly different challenges as they near the end of their fight to be the next commander in chief.

Obama, who has seen his once-sizable lead in national polls vanish, will try to press what has been an advantage on foreign affairs to make the case that Romney’s inexperience on foreign policy risks more war, more blood and more treasure.

Romney must appear tough, but not reckless, as he squares what has been more bellicose rhetoric, particularly during the Republican primary season, with a public that has soured on foreign military engagements. And both candidates will try to pick their spots to pivot back to the issue on most voters’ minds: the economy.

War Weary

The president’s campaign in particular hopes to capitalize on the nation’s disenchantment with war.