WASHINGTON — The stakes for the big debate couldn’t be higher.
President Obama and Mitt Romney will put their political futures on the line tomorrow night in Denver, at the first of their three debates.
Millions will tune in to watch them go toe to toe, and any stumble or well-delivered zinger has the potential to shake up the race.
Obama likely will take a cautious approach, trying to avoid any embarrassing slip that could erase his lead in the polls.
Romney will try to hit his opponent hard and score points with his message that America can’t afford four more years of Obama’s failed leadership, said the Romney campaign.
It’s also Romney’s best chance yet to regain momentum and overtake Obama, as polls show the president with a solid lead in the crucial swing states that will decide the election.
That’s why both candidates hunkered down yesterday for intensive debate coaching that lasts hours at a time, and they’ll keep at the training regime right up until show time at the University of Denver.
The practice includes mock debates. Obama has Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) standing in for Romney. Romney has Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) playing Obama.
Both campaigns have attempted to lower expectations for their candidate, a strategy designed to make it easier for them to declare victory in the debate, regardless of what happens.
Still, registered voters overwhelmingly — 56 percent to 29 percent — believe Obama will come out ahead, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll.
Tomorrow’s debate is slated to focus exclusively on domestic issues, which will put the struggling economy — the top issue for voters this year — front and center.
The Romney campaign is convinced its economic message will ultimately resonate, especially with the large share of undecided voters who can still tilt the outcome.
Romney will deliver that message in the debate and then hammer it home at campaign events and in a barrage of TV ads.
“The reason that these voters right now are undecided is because they’ve watched President Obama for four years and they haven’t concluded that he’s worthy of their support,” said top Romney adviser Ed Gillespie.
“They don’t feel that the economy is going in the right direction. They are very anxious about issues like spending and deficits,” he said. “So Governor Romney is going to speak directly to those anxieties . . . and talk about what the economy will look like under a President Romney and how we will be better off.”
Meanwhile yesterday, the Romney campaign and a super PAC backing Romney continued to hammer Obama over last month’s terror attack in Libya, in which the US ambassador was killed.