Obama, Romney polish debate plans

1 Oct 2012, 9:11 am   -   Source: AAP
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US President Barack Obama is laying low as he prepares for the first debate showdown with challenger Mitt Romney on Wednesday.

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US President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney have been laying low ahead of next week's debate, with the two polishing their plans of attack for their crucial first face-off of the campaign.

With the president off the campaign trail on Saturday, just 38 days before Americans vote on November 6, Romney spent a quiet day in Massachusetts, visiting the home of son Tagg in a Boston suburb and, according to his campaign, steering clear of debate preparation.

But that will be the focus for much of the coming days for both men as they ready for the first showdown, on Wednesday in Denver, Colorado, one of about a dozen swing states that will determine the election.

Both sides began their debate spin weeks ago, seeking to set high expectations for their opponent, which they could then declare he failed to meet, while setting the bar low for their own candidate.

Romney, who trails Obama in the polls, suggested he would do well at the debates, provided Americans do not merely seize on the "theatrics" of one-liners but focus on the issues at hand.

"The American people will listen carefully to the conversation... and they'll decide who can help their family, who will be able to get our economy going in the way it could be going and they'll make their decision based on what they believe is in the best interest of the country and their own family," Romney said on Friday.

In his weekly podcast on Saturday, Romney made the case that Obama's 2008 victory was based not on any record of accomplishment but on his arguments that a more humble posture would command greater respect abroad and boost the US economy and moral standing.

"Four years later, every one of these arguments has been proven wrong," Romney said, citing the violent unrest coursing through the Middle East that led to the death of four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya.

With Obama and Romney hunkered down, the campaign trail was wide open for Vice President Joe Biden and Romney's running made Paul Ryan.

In Florida, a large battleground state with millions of senior voters, Biden hit out at the Republicans' plans to overhaul Medicare, the government health care program for nearly 50 million retirees and disabled Americans.

"This country is facing the starkest choice, the starkest choice for president that we've faced, at least in my memory, (and) the truth of the matter is that nowhere is it more clear what they would do than in Medicare," Biden told a crowd in Fort Myers.

Romney and Ryan seek to inject greater private competition in Medicare by converting the system's guaranteed benefits into vouchers. Republicans say the plan would save money, but Democrats argue it would expose millions of elderly to rising health care costs.

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