US President Barack Obama prepared Monday for his first debate with Mitt Romney, saying the clash was about security for hard-working Americans, not rhetorical “zingers.”
Obama heaped pressure on his foe, who is angling for a dramatic turnaround for his ailing campaign in Wednesday’s showdown, before bunkering down in a resort in Nevada’s rocky desert to shake off his mothballed debating skills. “The media is 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 flood-lit rally of 11,000 people in a Hispanic suburb of Las Vegas 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 expectations setting that rival campaigns wage before big debates. Obama sought to frame Wednesday’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 a key battleground areas, which may determine the outcome of the presidential contest in Nevada on November 6. Ann Romney, the nominee’s wife, is scheduled to hold a rally in Henderson, south of Las Vegas, on Monday.
Republican Romney and Democrat Obama will meet in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday night for the first of three debates crucial to shaping the remaining five weeks of the president’s bid for a second White House term.
During his preparation for his face-to-face encounter, Obama has been assisted by a team of top-notch policy and communication advisers, and has had the aid of Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts — himself a former presidential nominee — who has played the part of Romney during mock debates.
Obama currently leads the national race by five points in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll and in most key battlegrounds ahead of the November 6 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 the memo from the Romney campaign.
