US Presidential debate: Round 2
Posted Oct 16, 2012 9:50 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Much as Obama needs to erase the memory of the first debate nearly two weeks ago, Romney will likewise need to turn in a repeat of his strong showing in the initial face-to-face-confrontation — a performance which propelled him into a virtual tie in nationwide polling.
With their debate falling exactly three weeks before the Nov. 6th election, Obama will be fighting to hang on to small leads in many of the nine key swing states that likely will determine which man occupies the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20th.
The so-called battleground states — those that do not reliably vote either Republican or Democratic — take on outsized importance in the US system where the president is chosen not by the nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests.
Beyond that, the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York is seen as offering both candidates their best chance for a breakout moment with time running out in what promises to be one of the closest presidential contests in recent US history.
The candidates will take questions on domestic and foreign policy from an audience of about 80 of the coveted uncommitted voters whom both campaigns are courting furiously.
The town hall-style format makes it especially tricky for Obama to strike the right balance in coming on strong against Romney without appearing too negative to the audience and the tens of millions of Americans who will be watching on television.
In the first debate, Obama seemed caught unaware and unprepared to respond to Romney’s sudden shift to more moderate positions from the hardline policies he had advocated during the fight for the Republican nomination.
