Two debates down, two to go. President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney will meet up for their second presidential debate tonight, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m.
Obama and Romney already had one go-round in a debate that saw pundits widely favor Romney's performance. The vice presidential debate on Oct. 11 swayed more toward Vice President Joe Biden than challenger Rep. Paul Ryan.
Tonight's debate is a town hall format, moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. Here are the details of the second presidential debate:
TV Channels Broadcasting Live: ABC, CBS, CNN, CSPAN, FOX, MSNBC, NBC, PBS
Time: 9 p.m. EST
Location: Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY
Live Chat: New Jersey Patch Debate Viewing Party at Monmouth University
Comic Relief: Name-calling debate on YouTube, New York Times cartoon, Democalypse 2012 from The Daily Show, Obama vs. Romney on SNL, SNL's vice presidential debate
Presidential Debate Schedule
| October 3, 2012 |
Topic: Domestic policy The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic. |
| October 11, 2012 Vice Presidential |
Topic: Foreign and domestic policy The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics and be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the question. |
| October 16, 2012 |
Topic: Town meeting format including foreign and domestic policy The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues. Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion. The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization. |
| October 22, 2012 |
Topic: Foreign policy The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy. |
Will you be watching the debates? What is the most important topic, in your opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments.