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President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney after the first presidential debate at the University of Denver,…ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
John Nichols
Let the palm-sweating begin. No doubt there are some tense viewers preparing to watch the Tuesday presidential debate at Hofstra University; now we know some details of how the candidates themselves are preparing.
Governor Romney’s sources say he met with his strategy team at a Marriot hotel and will have dinner with Ann and their five sons. Dinner is rotisserie chicken, with sides of spinach and baked potato.
The Obama Campaign says the President worked out Tuesday morning, followed by a 45 minute review and then had more prep in the afternoon. He and the first lady are having steak and potatoes at their hotel for dinner.
President Obama’s campaign sources tell NBC’s Kristen Welker that the president has been doing mock debates at night and practicing answers during the day. Reportedly, he will not shy away from engaging Romney on women’s issues, or from arguing that Romney has misrepresented his views.
Knowing that the President has prepared is half the battle for some, who want to know that the President is indeed coming to this debate with the fire in his belly that many lamented he left behind at the first debate. Journalist David Winograd, currently working on a graduate degree at Columbia University’s School of Journalism has a detailed and thoughtful analysis of the upcoming debate, including a 5 step plan for presidential success that is worthy of consideration
Scoring a decisive victory against Mitt Romney will not be easy, but that’s what you’ll need to do to regain the momentum you lost after your last lackluster debate performance. And you don’t just need a home run. You need a grand slam. Here are a few things you can do to hit it out of the park tonight (or at the very least, win one more vote in the crucial swing state of New York):
Accomplishing all of these feats in one night will not be easy. But since this is the last debate on domestic affairs, it may well be your last opportunity to speak directly to a national audience about the issues that will likely determine the outcome of the election. And you need to make an impression.
There is much more of David’s analysis here, and it’s an interesting read.
