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WASHINGTON — The gloves are coming off tonight when President Obama and Mitt Romney duke it out in Denver.
They’ve been holed up for days practicing their jabs and sucker punches for the big debate. But Obama and Romney both have glass jaws when it comes to hard-hitting questions about the economy, taxes and health care.
The president has a huge blind spot in explaining his broken promises to fix the economy, end partisan gridlock in Washington and rein in runaway federal spending and mounting public debt.
Obama won’t be able to run away from the blistering combination of facts and figures that define America’s economic slump: unemployment still above 8 percent, an anemic 1.3 percent economic growth, a record 46.7 million Americans on food stamps, and a crushing $16 trillion national debt.
And he’ll have to take it on the chin when confronted with the fact that his signature legislative accomplishment — ObamaCare — remains woefully unpopular.
Likewise, Romney will find himself on the ropes fending off questions about the still-undefined details of his plan to reform the income-tax code.
It will take some fancy footwork for the Republican to dance around his own immense wealth and the relatively low income-tax rate he enjoys, as he lays out his plan to reduce everyone’s income taxes by 20 percent.
He’ll also have to bob and weave to avoid acknowledging the striking similarities between ObamaCare and the RomneyCare program he championed as Massachusetts governor.
The format won’t give the contenders any room to dodge those topics. The 90-minute debate — the first of three before the election — will be divided into six 15-minute segments: three on the economy and one each on health care, governing and the role of government. Both men yesterday took a break from their grueling debate workouts.
Romney went out for lunch to a Chipotle restaurant in Denver, accompanied by his debate sparring partner, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who stands in for Obama in the practice sessions.
Asked by a reporter whether he was primed for his debut presidential debate, Romney answered, “I’m getting there.”
More than 750 miles away in Henderson, Nev., Obama broke training to visit the nearby Hoover Dam.
The president had been hunkered down for three days at a desert resort in Henderson, about 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas, for what his campaign calls “debate camp.”
Obama said he made the outing to the historic Hoover Dam “because it’s spectacular and I’ve never seen it before.”
Tonight’s a big night for Obama, and not just because of the debate. It’s also his 20th wedding anniversary.
The president said he and wife Michelle will celebrate their anniversary Saturday.
The debate is crucial for both candidates, as Obama tries to hold on to his lead in crucial swing states and Romney tries to reverse that trend.
Obama leads 46-43 percent in the must-win state of Florida, according to a Suffolk University/7NEWS poll released yesterday.
The president even leads in swing state New Hampshire, which is next door to Romney’s home state of Massachusetts. Obama is up 51-43, breaking the crucial 50-percent threshold, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling.