The second presidential debate takes place Tuesday night, and both candidates are currently holed up in quiet spaces, practicing their policy positions, their jabs and zingers, their expressions and tone.
President Obama will be trying to avoid any repeat of his performance two weeks ago, when he seemed listless, shrinking in the face of Republican challenger Mitt Romney's blistering attacks.
Romney, however, will attempt to recapture the magic of the first debate, when his aggressiveness and passion reenergized the Republican base, intrigued undecided voters, and rallied his polls numbers to an unprecedented 5-point surge, pushing him, in some estimates, into the lead in the race for president.
Debates are often about style over substance, and Obama is known as a stylish president, so his lackluster presentation at the first debate surprised and confused his supports. He glanced down, refused to make eye contact and let Romney bulldoze over his objections.
Democrats were upset he never mentioned Romney's infamous "47 percent" video, in which Romney called nearly half the country unmotivated slackers who live off the government, during a speech at a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser earlier this year.
"We know that the president is his own harshest critic and he knows that Mitt Romney had a better debate 10 days ago, 11 days ago, however many days it was," said Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the Obama campaign, speaking to The Huffington Post.
When it comes to the issues, Obama's best bet may be to tout his economic record. While the president entered office during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, studies say government stimulus, spearheaded by the Obama administration and vilified by the Romney camp, prevented the recession from reaching depression levels.
Unemployment is at a nearly-four-year low, consumer confidence is up, foreclosures are down and both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq are up.
If the president can present a forceful defense of his policies and back it up with numbers, which look good lately, he will have a good chance at coming out of the second debate unscathed.
For his part, Romney knows he needs to work on his likability. He'll strive to seem relatable to an audience that has increased confidence in his leadership qualities but is still uncomfortable with him personally.
Now that Romney has established himself as a capable candidate that needs to be taken seriously, he will want to position himself as presidential'. He'll try to position Obama's attacks as desperate flailing against a better alternative.
Unfortunately for Romney, the second debate is a town hall format, with pre-selected undecided voters asking the candidates questions.
Obama won't be tied down to a podium-he'll be free to roam around the auditorium. The president is at his best in interpersonal, intimate spaces. The closeness seems to help keep him on message, rather than falling into wonky policyspeak.
Romney, on the other hand, prefers formal, regulated events. While his forwardness played well at the last debate, he may seem testy in the smaller scale of the town hall. He'll need to find a way to inspire the audience without alienating them.
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