Obama And Romney Prepare For Second TV Debate

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are both conducting private preparations ahead of their second televised debate on Tuesday.

The president is hunkering down at a golf resort in Williamsburg in Virginia for another full day of practice with aides.

"It is going great," Mr Obama told volunteers at a nearby campaign office on Sunday.

The Obama campaign knows their man needs to rebound from what was widely seen as a poor performance in his first face-to-face meeting with the challenger on October 3.

Mr Romney is spending much of the day practising near his Boston-area home.

The Republican candidate will be trying to keep up the momentum he built after a strong showing in Denver.

He managed to overtake the president in national polls and undermine him in some key battleground states that will decide the election.

Tuesday's debate is town-hall style, with the candidates taking questions from voters in the audience at Hofstra University in Hempstead in New York.

The format may suit Mr Obama better, requiring him to interact with an audience and by extension with viewers at home.

Michael Kramer, professor of communication studies at St Mary's College, Indiana, said Mr Obama must stress eye contact, after spending much of the Denver debate looking down at his notes.

"He needs to make sure he is talking right to the people asking the questions and really engaging them and being more dynamic ... he needs more energy in his voice," Mr Kramer said.

But he warned that the president must also be careful not to over-compensate by being too aggressive.

Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said the president was "disappointed" in his performance in Denver.

"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," Mr Gibbs told CNN.

"I think you'll see somebody who is very passionate about the choice that our country faces," he added.

Romney aides have suggested the former Massachusetts governor would be prepared regardless of the approach Mr Obama takes.

"The president can change his style," Romney campaign advisor Ed Gillespie told Fox News. ''He can change his tactics. He can't change his record."

This time around, the president’s supporters will be expecting him to raise issues he missed in the last TV debate.

They include Mr Romney's now-infamous 47% comment and defend his handling of issues like the attack on the US consulate in Libya, which the Republicans have turned into a key election talking point.