See also US Politics Video: The 2nd Obama-Romney Debate
EA Video Analysis: How to Use American Deaths to Win a Presidential Election
EA's Scott Lucas and Lee Haddigan write for The Hill
Forget policy and details. Last night's presidential town hall debate at Hofstra University in New York was about each candidate's acting in the political theatre. Could President Obama atone for his lackluster display in the first debate without appearing too aggressive? Could Mitt Romney maintain the aura from the first debate in Denver of an authentic presidential alternative?
We had answers within the 90 minutes.“Can Obama Rebound?” is now the question of the past. “Can Romney Re-surge?” takes over.
The style mattered last night more than the substance because, by now, anyone likely to vote has already been exposed to the core positions of both sides. While the 11 questions from the town hall audience set challenging tasks --- “How can I be sure of a job when I graduate from university?” “How would your energy policy bring down gas prices?” “What would you do about illegal immigrants?” “Mr Romney, how are you different from George W. Bush?” --- Obama's performance was inevitably the centre of attention. Many viewers tuned in to watch that plot line, not necessarily to see whether the president could dismantle the questionable assumptions, for example, behind Mitt Romney's promise to lower tax rates for everyone.
As the curtain fell, the answer to “Can Obama rebound?” was “Yes”, but his spirited presentation and his attempts to undermine his opponent's were not enough to make him a clear winner in the manner of his challenger a week earlier. Romney struggled to get his message across, but he still provided enough commitment to Republican ideals and talking points to encourage his supporters.
However, beyond that immediate review is far more encouragement for the Obama campaign, as it looks for the polls to shift back towards the President over the next week.
The most significant setback for Romney last night may be the demolition of his political challenge over foreign policy. Over the last week, the Republican campaign has tried to turn the 11 September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya into a defining moment of Obama weakness and negligence on the world stage. In the hours before the debate, Romney's camp appeared to have manoeuvred Secretary of State Hillary Clinton into taking the blame for the deaths of four Americans, thus “covering up” for the president.
Romney sabotaged that effort, however. When the Republican questioned Obama's assurance that he had called the attack in Benghazi an “act of terror” the following day. Moderator Candi Crowley corrected Romney --- confirming President Obama's statement from memory. The Democratic attack ad showing Romney's utter confusion over the clarification must be in production already. An editing team will show how Mitt's consternation caused the biggest laugh, of only two audible on the night, from an audience under orders not to react to the statements made by either man.
So the decision in this campaign, as was probably always the case, returns to the economy and related issues such as health care. Both candidates covered the rhetorical bases: Obama cast himself as the president who was looking out for Americans with the tough decisions to bring the U.S. back to prosperity; Romney returned to “12 million more jobs” while denying that his tax cuts would favour the wealthy and that his health care proposals would lead to higher costs for most Americans.