The first two presidential debates provided viewers with a takeaway of memorable catch phrases and the third and final debate that aired live on Monday, Oct. 22 successfully achieved the same.

President Obama's remarks that included the term "horses and bayonets" became the zinger of the debate between him and Mitt Romney. When Romney criticized the president for the fact that the navy is the smallest it's been since 1917, the president used the term to reference the past; it was a strategy to demonstrate that the Republican's foreign policy ideas and military vision were outdated.

"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's changed.

"We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go under water, nuclear submarines," Obama added.

Obama even referenced a children's military role-playing board game called "Battleship," to further make his point that Romney's ideas are not in line with modern times.

"The question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships," he said.

Obama's "horses and bayonets" comment became the most popular topic in social media before the debate ended. The hash tag #horsesandbayonets trended on Twitter, and someone created @horsesandbayonettes Twitter account for followers to tweet comments. Even a new tumblr website was created featuring memes with horses and bayonets.

Critics spoofed the "Sesame Street" character Big Bird comment made by Romney after the first presidential debate on Oct. 3. Romney said if he won the election, he would cut government funding for public broadcasting even though he loved Big Bird, one of the network's most beloved children's characters.

Romney was widely spoofed again when he made the comment "binders full of women," to reference women's resumes he received when he addressed the topic of not hiring enough women in his cabinet during his term as governor. The remark made during the second presidential debate also took on an Internet life of its own.

Tumblr's website features images inspired by Obama's "horses and bayonets" remark. Critics also created a mash up memes referencing remarks from all three presidential debates: horses and bayonet with binders and even Big Bird.

The latest Big Bird meme features the Sesame Street character holding a bayonet with his head tilted to the side with the caption, "You want a piece of me Mitt?"

Another meme features Big Bird riding a horse carrying a notebook binder. And the majority are fake ad campaigns featuring Romney with horses and bayonets.

View the gallery with various "horses and bayonets" memes.

Tags
President Obama, Mitt romney, Presidential debate 2012, Presidential election 2012, Presidential debate, Memes