Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney today left the campaign trail to prepare for the second crucial debate with the President promising a more aggressive performance.
Aides said Mr Obama was staging mock face-offs with Senator John Kerry playing Mr Romney at a golf resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.
His team promised he would give a very different showing at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York after a disappointing first debate.
Mr Obama said: “It is going great.”
Meanwhile Mr Romney — who is aiming to build on a commanding opening performance which boosted his popularity in the race for the White House — was rehearsing near his home in Massachusetts.
A campaign official said Mr Romney was using Ohio senator Rob Portman to stand in for the President ahead of tomorrow’s debate, which is exactly three weeks before election day.
The Democrats clawed back some momentum in the campaign when Joe Biden went on the attack against Republican Paul Ryan in the vice-presidential debate last week.
The candidates will have little time to recover from any more mistakes as early voting is already under way in dozens of states, including some “battleground” states — those which are not reliably Republican or Democrat.
Mr Romney’s team suggested he would continue to moderate his message, in tone if not in substance, as he did in the last debate to help broaden his appeal to undecided voters.
But Mr Obama arguably has the bigger challenge after his first effort was seen as passive and lacking in energy.
It comes as reports today said that the rivals have come together on one point ahead of the debate — the planned tactics of the moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley. Lawyers for both campaigns are reported to have complained about Ms Crowley’s plans to be far more aggressive in picking up on what each candidate is saying.
