WASHINGTON —
Fighting for his political life, President Barack Obama re-emerged in blistering form in an interruption-filled debate rematch, trying to diminish Mitt Romney's rising stature by accusing him of dishonesty and extremism.
In a confrontational showdown, Romney did well against his suddenly higher expectations and an incumbent who decided to show up with passion this time. Portraying himself as a plausible alternative for struggling Americans, Romney declared: "We don't have to live like this."
What millions of voters got was an almost desperate competition of ideas and claims between two men who badly want the job and want to beat each other.
It felt almost nothing like the first, fairly drab debate that Romney won. Both guys were bouncing off their stools.
Obama's nervous supporters will surely get a boost from his fiercely competitive showing, which in turn could drive up enthusiasm in the get-out-the-vote effort that could decide the election. Playing for undecided voters and women in particular, Obama turned the most straightforward questions from voters into a chance to contrast himself with Romney.
Almost lost, at times, were the town-hall participants who were supposed to play a major role in asking questions.
The candidates got in each other's space and spoke over each other's lines in a reflection of the race itself at this point — an intense, deadlocked contest for the future of the nation
"You'll get your chance. I'm still speaking," Romney said during one exchange as the audience in the arena gasped.
"I'm the president," Obama said when asked about the deadly attack on Americans in Libya. He pointed at Romney and said that suggestion that anyone on his team "would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That's not what we do."
As if to put to a bookend on his second debate performance, Obama chose his last minutes to mention what he never did last time, Romney's caught-on-tape statement that nearly half the people of the nation "believe that they are victims."
"Think about who he was talking about," the president said in an appeal to the middle-class voters at the center of the entire campaign.
Obama's strategy failed in the first debate on a Denver stage because, as the frontrunner, he had tried to sell his agenda without engaging Romney much. This time he tied Romney to Republicans in Congress and sought to make him look extreme compared with President George W. Bush.
Obama the aggressor showed up because debates are high-stakes reality television, where style can leave just as much impression as substance. The president gave more attention to how his answers would play on TV, knowing some viewers last time wondered whether he cared.
That's why Obama, more than once, said he was looking forward to the next question.
Riding high but still facing a harder state-by-state electoral path to victory, Romney sought to prove he could relate well to voters in a town-hall setting against an incumbent who bests him on likability.
When one woman questioned Romney about his tax plan, she lost her train of thought midway through a list of the deductions that are popular with the middle class. The president jumped in: "You're doing great!"
The burden, the anticipation, the opportunity — it all focused on Romney in the first debate because he was trailing and needing a breakthrough. This time, undecided voters needed to hear from Obama why they will be better off if they rehire him.
That's exactly what one of the questioners, Michael Jones, asked Obama after saying he had voted for him last time. Obama recited all he has done — helping the auto industry, cutting taxes, tracking down Osama bin Laden — and then pivoted to his next economic plan.
Romney's response to Jones: "I think you know better."
It spoke to Romney's approach this time: Stay aggressive but pull everything back to the theme that Obama has been a disappointment in the way that matters most to people, mainly their economic security.
The first debate reset the race to its current place: deadlocked nationally and extremely close in the states that will decide it.
Romney still has the more difficult path to victory because of the math of the map.
On the path to 270 Electoral College votes, Obama is presumed to start with 237 compared with Romney's 191 based on the political leanings of individual states. So Romney must win more of the nine states up for grabs, particularly Ohio.
Viewpoints
Analysis: In blistering form, Obama rebounds
- Viewpoints
-
-
Graduation Day
It is that time of year again.
Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the graduation ceremonies of a liberal arts college. Later, many in the audience told me they expected a very political speech. Some of them were relieved; others were disappointed. I don't do politics at graduation.
Graduation is about life.
My high school graduation was OK. I gave a speech. My family was there, intact, probably as happy as they ever were (But did I know?). We went out for Chinese food afterward. -
Coal problem worth tackling in Washington and Frankfort
Despite hysterical cries from radical environmentalists, neither Sen. Rand Paul’s Defense of Environment and Property Act nor Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Coal Jobs Protection Act would allow activities that bring harm to Kentucky’s wildlife or waterways for the sake of propping up the coal industry.
-
Peter Perlman — Life lessons from a lawyer’s lawyer
One of the great moments of my life was sitting next to legendary Louisville attorney Frank Haddad at a luncheon when he learned he had received the first Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Lawyer award from the Kentucky Academy of Trial Lawyers.
As they started his bio, the surprised Frank started crying like a baby. A sudden heart attack took him less than a year later. Winning the Perlman award was the crowning achievement of his career. -
Credit score insanity
Frequently, people stop me and ask me personal finance questions.
The most common is how to improve their credit history score.
If you need to improve your credit score, it means you have lousy credit. Before fixing the score, people need to ask how their credit got so bad to begin with. -
‘Tells’ about who will blow their money
Kentucky Derby week is one where gambling takes a forefront in my life. Along with the non-stop activities in my home state, I am speaking at a dinner for the Society of Settlement Professionals in Las Vegas and a film crew from Italy is flying in from Rome to interview me for a documentary about lottery winners.
-
Viewpoints change when critics gain power
Scandals like those roiling Washington often look more or less nefarious as time and facts unfold. After all, what at first looked like a third-rate burglary turned into Watergate.
I doubt the scandals around Benghazi, the IRS and subpoenas of Associated Press phone records reach Watergate status — but we must await more information and time to know. -
Trouble’s last ride
When announcing my retirement, I made reference to letting “Trouble” having one last ride.
-
Going from school to work requires preparation, faith
(Editor’s Note: After graduating from EKU on Saturday, Seth Littrell came to work Monday at the Richmond Register as a reporter/photographer.)
This past Saturday weekend I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with my bachelor’s in journalism.
It was the single goal I had been working toward for the past four years, and as I walked across that stage I realized I was the first person in my family to do so. -
Report on former EKU Center for the Arts director called 'biased, unfair'
I am writing in response to the Richmond Register’s May 3, 2013, article concerning the former Executive Director of the EKU Center for the Arts. The article I reference appeared on the front page of your newspaper with the headline “Sexual harassment, other offenses alleged in Hoskin’s records in 740 pages of documents.”
-
Recognizing those who provide care
How fitting it is that the beginning of National Nursing Home Week is Mother’s Day, May 12.
- More Viewpoints Headlines
-
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest
Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare
Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
