Round 2: President Obama turns up the heat in combative town-hall debate

By Amanda Paulson,?Staff writer / October 17, 2012

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama answer a question at the same time during the second U.S. presidential campaign debate in Hempstead, New York.

REUTERS/Jim Young

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President Obama delivered a far more forceful performance in his second presidential debate against Mitt Romney, as he and the former Massachusetts governor clashed over a wide range of questions from undecided voters.

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Debating at Hofstra University in New York?s Long Island, Obama and Governor Romney both had the gloves off in this town-hall debate, as they sparred over questions that ranged from the economy and gas prices to Libya, immigration, gun control, and gender disparity in pay.

The outcome was less clear-cut than the debate in Denver, with neither candidate scoring the huge victory that Romney seemed to in their last encounter.

The big question as the debate began was whether Obama could undo some of the damage he did two weeks ago in Denver, where he was widely viewed as losing badly to Romney. In the weeks since that debate, Romney has largely overtaken Obama in the polls, and is now leading in some key swing states. Obama certainly delivered a stronger performance this time around, and seemed unafraid of directly confronting Romney on a number of issues he shied away from two weeks ago.

?Very little of what Governor Romney just said is true,? he said early on in the debate, in response to criticisms by Romney of his energy policy and ?statements that he had reduced drilling on federal lands.

It set the stage for a willingness to spar directly with Romney frequently ? an interaction that often doesn?t happen in town hall debates, where the emphasis is on engaging with the questioner ? that happened repeatedly through the night, as Romney and Obama tussled with each other about their positions and statements on energy, the Libya attack, immigration, and tax policy.

Romney?s strongest moments in the debate came when he characterized Obama?s first four years in stark terms.

?I think you know that these last four years haven't been so good as the president just described and that you don't feel like you?re confident that the next four years are going to be much better either,? Romney told a questioner who said that he had voted for Obama four years ago but was less optimistic this time around.

?I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you're going to get,? Romney said, before launching into criticisms ranging from unemployment and the growing numbers of people in poverty to his failure to reform entitlements or immigration. ?The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked,? Romney said.

Romney was strong at the debate's end, too, though he misfired notably when he answered a question on gender pay inequity by referring to ?whole binders full of women? that he had his staff in the Massachusetts governor?s office bring him when there weren?t enough women candidates for cabinet positions. The phrase quickly became one of the most mocked of the night on Twitter and elsewhere.

But Obama, who had the most to gain from this debate, came in with a particularly tall agenda.

He needed to be more energetic than in Denver. He needed to find a way to attack Romney?s character and paint him as a flip-flopper, without hurting his own likability. He needed to appeal to women voters, who are key to his victory plan and who polls show may be leaving the president for Romney.?

And he had to do it all without seeming like he was overcompensating from his weak performance of two weeks ago, or that he is desperate.

And, with some missteps, he accomplished most of that agenda.

He used a fairly softball question on pay disparity for women to not only highlight his signing of the Lily Ledbetter act but also move into a discussion of contraception and Planned Parenthood ??criticizing Romney on both ? noting that ?these are not just women's issues. These are family issues. These are economic issues.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6mn_p-gSCU0/Round-2-President-Obama-turns-up-the-heat-in-combative-town-hall-debate

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