Romney has already demonstrated he thinks on his feet WAY better than Obama, and because a townhall format is going to be more volatile than having the moderator run the whole show, Romney should be in a better position than Obama from that perspective.
Also, consider that Romney should be going into this debate with some confidence due to his first knockout performance, and Obama is going to probably be way more nervous due to his earlier terrible performance and the fact that he’s under even more pressure than the first debate because the stakes for him are even higher this time since he did so badly the first time.
I suspect that Mitt has figured out how to get under Obama’s skin, and that unlike Obama, Mitt can control his emotions. I think part of Obama’s problem is that he probably can’t control his emotions and the resulting internal turmoil of trying to appear calm while he is internally seething greatly interferes with his thinking ability.
I’ve also wondered if part of Obama’s awful performance is because his internal polls show he’s going to lose re-election and yet he is still being forced into the humiliation of these debates in which he faces an opponent who is smarter and more capable than himself. Romney on the other hand may already know he’s probably going to be the next President, and is therefore may be acting accordingly.
During these debates, Obama is totally on his own without the adoring handpicked crowds, the worshiping press, total control over everyone else in the room because he’s “The President”, and someone to whisper all the answers in his ear. Obama really is an empty suit, and that’s not going to change from the first debate either, so I’m not expecting Obama to be that much better in the subsequent debates. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s even worse than the first time.
I think that will depend, in large part, on how well the media manages to stack the audience in Obama's favor. Watchers will tend to "follow the leader," which will be the people in the townhall.
. -- I suspect that Mitt has figured out how to get under Obama's skin, and that unlike Obama, Mitt can control his emotions. I think part of Obama's problem is that he probably can't control his emotions and the resulting internal turmoil of trying to appear calm while he is internally seething greatly interferes with his thinking ability. --
I agree completely. That's the most significant part of the dynamic. Romney can't control when Obama loses it, but he can keep Obama muddled. I also think your speculation that Obama's performance will get worse, is likely.
Romney has his work cut out, but I think he's properly tuned for this contest.
Every question will be a gotcha! question, but every one of 'em will be based on the faulty premise that government is the default and only solution.
All Mitt has to do is begin his answers by openly and confidently resetting the premise, and then respond accordingly.
Meanwhile, every answer from Obama is going to be a failed government solution. He knows of no others. Gotcha, Zero.