Presi-dent Barack Obama swung straight back onto the campaign trail Wednesday after out-manoeuvring his White House rival Mitt Romney in a comeback debate and re-energising his faltering re-election bid. Most observers, backed by anecdotal instant polls, gave Obama victory in Tuesday's second election showdown between the pair. But both candidates were determined to maintain their momentum with less than three weeks until polling day.
An assertive Obama was barely off stage before he took his campaign circus out to Iowa, the swing state where he launched his extraordinary rise to power in the 2008 Democratic primary, and which both men hope to win on November 6. Romney, the Republican nominee, headed south for two campaign rallies in Virginia, a key battleground that looked to be leaning towards Obama until the first debate on October 3, which the incumbent lost badly.
Meanwhile, the political class was still digesting the repercussions of the latest bitterly contested head-to-head, a so-called "town hall" with questions from members of the public. Neither man did much to conceal their mutual dislike as they stalked the stage, sometimes just a yard (meter) from each other as they traded accusations of dishonesty. Both landed blows but, after his poor earlier showing, a resurgent Obama carried the day.
Romney running mate Paul Ryan stood by his man Wednesday, declaring on NBC News that his boss won because he "offered people a very concrete vision about how he's got the experience, the knowledge to get people back to work to grow the economy." But ad hoc polls from major broadcasters gave the Democrat the edge, and his jubilant supporters took to social media to twist the knife. Analysts agreed that the Romney surge had hit a speed bump, leaving the race closely matched. "The Republicans will be disappointed that Romney didn't put him away, and the Democrats will be reassured that the president is in full press now," said Linda Fowler, a government professor at Dartmouth College.
Conservative commentator George Will, a long-time presidential observer, said Obama came out ahead in one of the most spirited US debates ever. Both men "tiptoed right up to the point of rudeness, but stepped back. It was a very good fight," Will told ABC News. "I have seen every presidential debate in American history since the floor of Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. This was immeasurably the best."
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