Romney versus Obama: let the television debates begin
Mitt Romney hopes to reignite his campaign in his first televised debate with Barack Obama. History suggests style wins over substance
There is a theory among US political strategists that presidential debates may not be enough to win or lose a White House election, but they can certainly turn momentum around.
And a change in momentum is precisely what Republican contender Mitt Romney needs after a bruising few weeks that have seen President Barack Obama consolidate an albeit narrow lead of 3.5 per cent in national polls as the election race enters the closing stretch.
For Romney, tonight's debate in Denver, Colorado, - is a chance to "close the deal" with Republican and independent voters, many of whom are saying he must put flesh on not just the bones of his personality, but also his policies.
Democrat Obama may be running a gritty campaign that is seeing him build leads in swing states that could prove crucial on November 6, but he remains vulnerable amid lingering domestic hardship and fresh troubles in the Middle East. For all his soaring rhetoric in set-pieces, Obama has never been accused of being a natural debater, preferring to take the high road to protect what some critics say is a thin political skin. A slew of recent talk-show appearances, however, show a more relaxed figure.
It is in tight races that debates can take on a life all their own, producing a gladiatorial, "fight night" atmosphere in the finest traditions of US political blood sport. For all the calculus deployed in presidential campaigns, not to mention tightly choreographed public events, debates introduce rare spontaneity into the race.
The 52-year history of presidential debates is studded with moments of blunder and gaffe - by incumbent presidents who should have known better, and by contenders all-too-desperate to chance their arm. Even a pregnant sigh, or a glance at a watch at the wrong moment, have been enough to damage a cause.
For momentum, look to the 1976 match-up between unelected Republican incumbent Gerald Ford and the insurgent Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Going into the debate, Ford was clawing his way back into contention after Carter, a born-again Christian, faced widespread criticism after he told Playboy magazine of having "lusted in my heart".