Romney ready to take on Obama in first TV showdown

Republican candidate Mitt Romney was under pressure to produce a strong performance in the early hours of this morning at his first face-to-face debate with President Barack Obama, amid signs Romney may be gaining some ground in the race for the White House.

The 90-minute encounter offered the chance to reach more than 60 million people on television, a far greater audience than watched either candidate speak at the Democratic and Republican conventions.

And that could pay dividends in attracting undecided voters. Running behind in the polls, Romney was more in need of a victory than Obama at the University of Denver, the first of three such face-offs scheduled in the next four weeks.