High pressure for Obama, Romney in 2nd debate

(WWLP) - The stakes couldn’t be higher for President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who are set to meet for their second debate.

The candidates have spent the last few days preparing for Tuesday night’s debate at Hofstra University in Long Island, which will be in a town-hall format (meaning that members of the audience will ask the candidates questions.) In the first debate, Romney was interpreted as the clear winner, and in the last two weeks the Republican has gone from trailing President Obama to running even with or even leading him.

The impact of this debate is particularly important, as there was little consensus among political analysts over who won last week's vice presidential debate between incumbent Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan.

Democrats are hoping for a much stronger performance from the President this time; looking to ensure he demands specifics of Romney, and questions his new, more moderate tone. Republicans would like to see Romney continue to show the confidence he showed in the last debate, and deliver their message that things have failed to improve for average Americans in the last four years.

The debate, which is being moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley, begins at 9:00 P.M. You can watch it on the air on 22News, or streaming live on WWLP.com on any device.