Obama, Romney retreat to prep for second debate

GlobalPost

President Barack Obama and his GOP rival are both staying off the campaign trail this weekend, as each of them is holed up to prepare for their upcoming debate on Tuesday, which will be held town-hall style at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

It will be moderated by CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley, the network reported

According to Fox News, Obama will likely bring up Republican rival Mitt Romney's involvement in Bain Capital, a topic the president avoided at the last debate, and "plans to be more aggressive."

Obama, who was widely criticized for his lackluster demeanor during the first presidential face-off, is spending the weekend at the riverside Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, to hopefully make a comeback from his initial letdown performance.

“He knew when he walked off that stage, and he also knew as he watched the tape of that debate, that he has to be more energetic. I think you’ll see somebody who is very passionate about the choice that our country faces,” Robert Gibbs, Obama's adviser, said on CNN’s “State of the Union," the Washington Post reported

More from GlobalPost: Denver presidential debate: In defense of moderator Jim Lehrer

Romney is at his Boston-area home, working to parlay the success of the first debate into this second match-up, which will focus on both foreign and domestic issues. Ohio Senator Rob Portman is playing Obama in the GOP candidate's mock debates; John Kerry is playing Romney for Obama.

"The president can change his style, he can change his tactics, he can't change his record and he can't change his policies. And that's what this election is about," Romney adviser Ed Gillespie said, according to the Post. 

The next two debates are of crucial importance, with just three weeks until the election November 6 and many voters casting their ballots early. 

"Governor Romney has been making pitches all of his life," Obama spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said, the Associated Press reported. "He knows how to say what people want to hear whether that was during his time at Bain or during the dozens of town halls he did during the primary." 

Several of Obama's practice sessions leading up to the first debate were also apparently canceled due to the Embassy attacks in Libya which left four Americans dead, the AP reported. 

More from GlobalPost: Fun with politics: The best memes, gifs and Tweets of the debates

[View the story "Twitter puts in requests for Tuesday's 2nd Presidential debate" on Storify]

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.