Obama starts TV debate fightback

Skooter reporting 10/905/12

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was accused by US President Barack Obama of being dishonest, following a televised debate that most observers agreed his Republican rival won.

Mr. Obama called on his rival to tell the truth about his own policies during the Wednesday’s debate in Denver, Colorado.

On Wednesday there were a total of 67.2 million people watched the debate, the Nielsen TV ratings service announced.

Before the election on November 6, there will be some adjustments in strategy, the Obama camp said.

On Thrusday, Mr. Romney, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, had a net positive rating for the first time in the presidential campaign. The poll showed 51% of voters viewed him positively, with Mr. Obama at 56%. The Republican was at the forefront of the president on which candidate voters trust to deal with the economy, create jobs and manage the deficit.

On Thursday, at a rally of some 12,000 supporters, Mr Obama was quoted as saying: "When I got on to the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney. The president is trying to convince you he's doing well. He's not. But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that."

In another rally in front of an estimated crowd of 30,000 people on the campus of University of Wisconsin-Madison later in the day, Mr. Obama continued the premise.

BBC