The remarkable and long-standing freeze in political polling of the presidential race has both sides looking to the fall debates as the clash point that should propel either President Obama or Mitt Romney to the finish line first.
“The debates are going to be huge,” said a Romney insider. “Break-point,” added an Obama official.
For weeks, Obama and Romney have been neck-and-neck in the polls, despite millions spent in TV advertising and flubs on both sides. The Romney campaign believes that the GOP convention and unveiling of his running mate will shake up the standings, but possibly only for a short period. And the Democratic convention follows the GOP event in late August, giving Obama a chance to play catch-up in the polls.
That leaves the debates as the event to change the course of the election. Both men are able debaters, Romney having participated in over a dozen GOP primary debates and the president considered the winner in his 2008 duels with Sen. John McCain.
And the debates could be different than in the past since the organizers are considering a format change from a trio of questioners to a simple moderator guiding the candidates through a Lincoln-Douglas type of debate. We won’t have to wait long: The debate dates are October 3, 16 and 22.
