US President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney face off in their second high-stakes debate on Tuesday night at a crucial juncture in the presidential campaign.
The Tuesday debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, offers both candidates their best chance for a breakout moment with time running out in what promises to be one of the closest presidential contests in recent US history.
The pressure is on Obama who has vowed to put up more of a fight in an effort to overcome his lackluster, momentum-stalling performance in the candidates' first debate on October 3.
Battleground states
Romney will likewise need to turn in a repeat of his strong showing in the initial face-to-face-confrontation, a performance which propelled him into a virtual tie in nationwide polling.
Obama still hangs on to small leads in many of the nine key swing states that are likely to determine which man occupies the White House on Inauguration Day on January 20.
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The candidates will take questions on domestic and foreign policy from an audience of about 80 of the coveted uncommitted voters whom both campaigns are so furiously courting.
The town hall-style format makes it especially tricky for Obama to strike the right balance in coming on strong against Romney without turning off the audience - and tens of millions of television viewers - by going too negative.
With early voting already under way in dozens of states, including such battlegrounds as Ohio and Iowa, the candidates will have little time to recover from any missteps in the debate.
Through Monday, either absentee or in-person early voting had begun in 43 of the 50 states.
In the first debate, Obama seemed caught unawares and unprepared to respond to Romney's sudden shift to more moderate positions from the hardline policies he had advocated during the fight for the Republican nomination.
The candidates will engage in a final debate next Monday in Boca Raton, Florida, where the emphasis will be on US foreign policy.
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