Obama, Romney Prepare for Debates

U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are preparing for their first presidential debate, Oct. 3, an event critical to both campaigns but particularly for Romney.

Now that the conventions are over, the battle lines have been drawn as both parties prepare for the next political phase. The November 6, 2012, elections will decide between Obama and Romney who will win to become the next President of the United States. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are preparing for their first presidential debate, Oct. 3, an event critical to both campaigns but particularly for Romney.

Romney is lagging in key states and will have to “come out swinging,” says Dr. Craig Smith, communications professor at California State University–Long Beach, and a former speechwriter to President Gerald Ford.

“He is going to have to be more than just competent, he is going to have to score some points and be aggressive,” he said.

Smith said presidential debates are key events in political campaigns: “Everyone needs to get sharp ... and know what they are doing.”

Obama, he said, will need to be “presidential and stay above the fray and allow Romney to be something of a bull in a china shop.”

Smith said the scrutiny in televised debates was particularly intense adding more pressure to both candidates.

“Television is a very cruel medium. ... If you over do things television sees right through,” he said.

This could particularly impact Romney, who he warned would “have to be careful not to overact.” 

Dr. Kathleen Kendall, political communications expert at the University of Maryland, says as challenger and lesser known, Romney may have an advantage.

“Our expectations for Romney will be a little lower because we don’t really know him. If he does fairly well that might be interpreted as a great benefit for him,” she said adding that the interpretation afterward is as critical as the debate itself.

Debates a big deal

The first national presidential debate was launched in 1960 when John F. Kennedy debated Richard Nixon. Nixon an experienced collegiate debater was so “jaded” by the experience writes blogger, Centre College professor, Dr. Benjamin Knoll, that it took another 16 years before another two candidates, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, agreed to debate.

All major television networks screen presidential debates and they will be streamed live online. The debates are now America’s most highly watched event after the Super Bowl, according to Kendall.