President Barack Obama is striving to win over women at the polls.
Recent surveys have shown the support for President Obama has dwindled among women tightening the gap between him and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
A USA Today-Gallup survey found that Obama and Romney are tied at 48 percent among women voters in battleground states. This finding was also mirrored in a recent Pew poll with Obama losing his 18 point lead over Romney tying them at 47 percent.
In comparison to the days leading up to the first debate, neither campaign spoke heavily on their candidate’s expected performance in detail. However, Obama’s campaign did promise a more aggressive approach to the second debate.
“You should expect that [Obama’s] going to be firm but respectful in correcting the record and the times we expect Mitt Romney will hide from and distort his own policies, said Jen Psaki, a campaign spokeswoman. “He’s energized and I expect he will also be making a passionate case.”
In preparation for the debate, President Obama took in a morning workout as well as a last minute prep session with his campaign debate team.
A source close to the campaign said that the president will not take a tender approach this go-round. He also mentioned that the president will likely bring up Romney’s “47-percent” remarks.
President Obama is also rumored to negate claims Romney made during the first debate such as Romney’s insistence on covering pre-existing conditions in his health-care program.
Romney has also spent the past few days brushing up on the town hall debate format in which audience members can ask the candidates questions. Candidates may answer the questions directly to the audience member rather than the moderator.
The town hall format has been met with some challenges in previous debates. During the 2008 campaign, Sen. John McCain’s pacing on stage became comedic ammunition for a “Saturday Night Live” parody. On the other hand, the audience-engagement format proved to be an advantage for former president Bill Clinton during the 1992 debate against President George H.W. Bush.
Despite the second debate’s more engaging format, tonight’s face-off will abide by a 21-page document of rules which were published on Monday in Time Magazine. Audience members will not be allowed to ask follow-up questions and President Obama and Romney have agreed to not direct questions to each other.
