Libertarian president nominee Gary Johnson said Wednesday the second presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney was like watching “dueling Phil Donahue acts,” and that the showdown underscored that both men are “fundamentally big-government guys.”

The former New Mexico governor — who was shut out of the debate because of his low poll numbers — said Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney did not spell out the specifics of how they plan to balance the federal budget or strengthen the nation’s immigration system.

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“Behind the fuzzy math and the quibbling, there was nothing more than a commitment to continue the status quo — with at most a few minor adjustments. We don’t need adjustments,” Mr. Johnson said. “We need a fundamental reduction in the role and cost of government. … “

“Where is the reasonable argument that government shouldn’t be running health care in the first place?” he said. “On the attacks in Libya, the debate we must have is not over what we call it or when; we need a debate over why we were there at all.”

“There are clear choices in this election, but they weren’t on the stage tonight,” Mr. Johnson said.