LA Times: Obama getting less debate practice than Romney [View all]

[WI_DEM]

(of course Obama has dealt with these issues for four years while it's possible that Romney will come off as overly programmed):

WASHINGTON — President Obama has blocked out three days to prepare for the October debates, but with the constant pressures that come with one of the world's most important jobs, aides worry he may not get enough practice at the podium.

The debate retreat, scheduled to start Sunday in Henderson, Nev., a suburb that sprawls away from Las Vegas, includes time for the daily battery of presidential meetings, leaving room for three afternoon debate sessions — if no crises flare up. Obama has already canceled some debate preparation because of events in the Middle East, said Jen Psaki, his campaign press secretary.

"He has had to balance the management of world events, governing, time out campaigning," she said. "He'll have less time than we anticipated to sharpen and cut down his tendency to give long, substantive answers."

That's the polite way to say the former University of Chicago law professor and U.S. senator can be wordy, a concern among his aides, who believe Republican Mitt Romney will be a serious debate adversary.

Romney has worked on his strategy for weeks, prepping at his home in New Hampshire and at his Boston headquarters, but also squeezing in time as he travels. On Sunday, at a hotel in Los Angeles, he huddled with confidant Beth Myers and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who takes the role of Obama in Romney's mock debates.



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-debate-20120926,0,2458253.story