Romney and Obama set to duel

Republican challenger Mitt Romney looks to use tonight’s debate against Barack Obama to revive his struggling presidential campaign, seeking not only to win over undecided voters but also fire up Republicans who have begun questioning whether he can win.

Though polls show the race remains tight ahead of the November 6 vote, Mr Obama clearly has momentum and the edge not only in national polls, but in the battleground states that will effectively decide the election.

In some states, Republican candidates appearing on the ballot with Mr Romney have taken steps to establish independence from him.

Party strategists predict more will follow, perhaps as soon as next week, unless Mr Romney can dispel fears that he is headed for defeat despite the weak economy that works against Mr Obama’s prospects.

Recent public polls show Mr Obama moving out to a modest lead in most if not all of the battleground states where the race will be decided.

But Republicans with access to Mr Romney’s polling data said that he has begun regaining some support among independent voters, enabling him to cut into the president’s advantage.

Because the presidential election is not decided by popular vote but rather by in a state-by-state contest, a handful of so-called battleground states, which do not reliably vote either Republican or Democratic, will likely decide the race.

But it is unclear how long congressional candidates are willing to wait for a turnaround. Several Republican strategists point to this week, which includes the debate and Friday’s release of September unemployment figures.

Some Republicans who are in periodic contact with the campaign say Mr Romney’s strategists have concluded that a recent upturn in public optimism, coming on top of Mr Obama’s success to date, complicates the attempt to defeat the president solely on the basis of pocketbook issues.

In recent days, Mr Romney has emphasised criticism of the president’s foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, where a terrorist attack at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.