After the first Presidential debate back on October 3rd was, by most accounts, a win for Governor Romney, the President has been hard at work to ensure he does not deliver a lackluster performance on Tuesday in the second Presidential debate.
Second Presidential Debate: Tuesday, October 16 2012 (Click for details)
Report from the Financial Times:
President Barack Obama said his preparation for the second presidential debate on Tuesday was “going great” as his aides promised a more “energetic” and “aggressive” performance.
Mr Obama has seen his lead in opinion polls collapse since the first debate with Mitt Romney 10 days ago, when he was widely seen as having given a lacklustre and listless performance. Although the race remains tight, some national polls have since given Mr Romney a slight edge.
The next debate will be on Tuesday at Hofstra University on Long Island, with the final debate – which will be exclusively about foreign policy – on the following Monday in Florida.
On Sunday afternoon, during a visit to a campaign office in Williamsburg, Virginia, Mr Obama replied to a question about his studying with: “It’s going great.” This contrasted sharply with the almost flippant public responses he gave when asked about his homework in the run-up to the first debate.
Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary and now an adviser to the Obama campaign, told CNN’s State of the Union television programme on Sunday that the president “was disappointed in his own performance. He didn’t meet his expectations.”
He added: “He knew when he walked off that stage and he also knew as he’s watched the tape of that debate that he’s got to be more energetic. I think you’ll see somebody who is very passionate about the choice that our country faces – and putting that choice in front of voters.”
Likewise, Governor Romney has been prepping also in the hopes that he can continue to ride the wave from the first Presidential debate. The format on Tuesday will be a “town hall style” event where candidates take pre-screened questions from “undecided voters.” This will be a little less direct between the two candidates but might provide some interesting questions.
We will have the live stream embedded for this debate, look for details here on Tuesday morning.
