Obama back on stump after debate debacle
President Barack Obama tried to regain his footing after a disappointing debate performance in which Republican Mitt Romney aggressively challenged the president’s stewardship of the economy.
Not even Democrats disputed that Mr Romney was likely to benefit politically from the debate in which he aggressively challenged Mr Obama’s stewardship of the economy and said his own plans would help pull the country out of a slow-growth rut.
Still, there was no immediate indication that the race would expand beyond the nine battleground states where the rivals and their running mates spend nearly all of their campaign time and advertising dollars.
Because the American presidential race is decided in state-by-state votes rather than by popular vote these nine states which do not reliably vote either Republican or Democratic will likely decide the race.
Mr Obama campaigned with the energy of a man determined to make up for a sub-par debate showing.
Speaking to a crowd not far from the debate hall, he said mockingly that a “very spirited fellow” who stood next to him on-stage “does not want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney’s positions” on taxes, education and other issues.
“Governor Romney may dance around his positions, but if you want to be president you owe the American people the truth,” he said.
Later, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Madison, Wisconsin, he said Mr Romney wants to cut federal funding for Public Television while repealing legislation that regulates the banking industry.
“I just want to make sure I’ve got this straight: He’ll get rid of regulations on Wall Street, but he’s going to crack down on Sesame Street,” Mr Obama said.
Taxes were a particular point of contention between the two men, although they were sharply divided as well on steps the cut the deficit, on government regulation, on education and Medicare.
Both in the debate and on the day after, Mr Obama said repeatedly that his rival favours a five trillion US dollar (€3.85 trillion) tax cut that is tilted to the wealthy and would mean tax increases on the middle class or else result in a spike in federal deficits.
Mr Romney said it was not so, and counter-attacked in a new television commercial.
It cited a report by the American Enterprise Institute that said Mr Obama and “his liberal allies” want to raise taxes on middle class earners by US$4,000 (€3,087) and that the Republican alternative would not raise the amount they owe to the IRS.
“Victory is in sight,” Mr Romney exulted in an emailed request for donations to supporters.
It was a show of confidence by a man hoping for a quick reversal in pre-debate public opinion polls that showed him trailing in battleground states as well as nationally.
Another possible pivot point in the campaign neared in the form of today’s government report on unemployment for September. Joblessness was measured at 8.1% the previous month.
Whatever the eventual outcome of the race, Mr Romney seemed to have achieved his goal of a campaign reset. Democrats braced for tightening polls over the next several days in the states where the campaign will be won or lost.
The Nielsen ratings company said an estimated 67.2 million people watched the first debate between Mr Obama and Mr Romney, the largest TV audience for a presidential debate since 1992.
Eleven TV networks carried the debate live. Telemundo showed it on tape delay.
Nielsen said you have to go back to the second debate involving Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot in 1992 for a more popular presidential debate.
Four years ago the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin attracted 69.9 million viewers.
