Obama ups the stakes before big debate
LAS VEGAS: US President Barack Obama prepared yesterday for his first debate with Mitt Romney, saying the clash was about security for hardworking Americans, not rhetorical “zingers”.
Obama heaped pressure on his foe, who is angling for a dramatic turnaround for his ailing campaign in tomorrow’s showdown, before bunkering down in a resort in Nevada’s rocky desert to shake off his mothballed debating skills.
“The media are speculating already on who is going to have the best zingers… who’s going to put the most points on the board,” Obama told a rally of 11 000 people in a Hispanic suburb here on Sunday.
“Governor Romney, he’s a good debater... I’m just okay,” Obama said tongue-in-cheek, as he upped the stakes in the classic game of expectationssetting that rival campaigns wage before big debates.
He sought to frame tomorrow’s face-off, the first of a trio of presidential debates, as a contrast between substance and style, and to paint himself as the champion of the hurting middle class.
“What I am most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country going and restore security for hard- working Americans,” Obama said.
“That is what people are going to be listening for, that is the debate you deserve,” the president told a crowd amped up by the Mexican rock band Mana.
Economically depressed Las Vegas suburbs are key battleground areas, which may determine the Nevada outcome of the presidential contest on November 6.
Ann Romney, the nominee’s wife, was scheduled to hold a rally in Henderson, south of here, yesterday.
Republican Romney and Democrat Obama will meet in Denver, Colorado, tomorrow night for the first of three debates crucial to shaping the remaining five weeks of Obama’s bid for a second term.
During his preparation for his face-to-face encounter, Obama has been assisted by a team of top policy and communication advisers, and has had the aid of Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts who has played the part of Romney during mock debates.
Obama leads the national race by five points in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll and in most key battlegrounds before the election.
While the classic pre-debate spin requires campaigns to play down the chances of their man, gruff New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appeared not to get this message from the Romney campaign.
“[Tomorrow] night is the restart of this campaign and I think you’re going to see those numbers start to move right back in the other direction,” Christie said.
“This whole race is going to be turned upside down come Thursday morning.”
The Obama campaign pounced on the comment, which will permit the president’s camp to portray the former Massachusetts governor’s performance tomorrow as disappointing, whatever the outcome of the debate.
Romney’s vice-presidential pick, Paul Ryan, admitted to “some missteps” after Romney’s nightmare month in the race, but said no debate would “make or break” the campaign.