Round Two: Obama In a TKO

HEMPSTEAD, NY - OCTOBER 16: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) and moderator Candy Crowley (C) listen during a town hall style debate at Hofstra University October 16, 2012 in Hempstead, New York. During the second of three presidential debates, the candidates fielded questions from audience members on a wide variety of issues. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Round Two of a scheduled debate series between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Tuesday night saw the champ come off the ropes after a lackluster Round One, in which he allowed the challenger to claim the lead.

Obama and Romney sparred over the economy, energy policy, immigration and the terrorist attack in Libya, among other things.  Romney made his points by ripping Obama's first-term record.  The President accused the Governor of playing politics with the death of a U.S. ambassador in Benghazi, while Romney asked why it took two weeks to declare the whole thing a terrorist attack.  On energy policy, the President was touting new alternative sources along with the increase in oil exploration.  Romney was all about "drill baby drill".  But both candidates seemed to agree on most things than to disagree on them.

Recent polls have shown that Romney has been making gains with women in the swing states since the first debate.  But he may have jeopardized that when he mentioned that, as Governor, he was having trouble finding enough qualified women for certain positions.  So, he says, he kept a portfolio of women to use just in case.

The event was held at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York, with a group of handpicked 'undecided' voters asking handpicked questions of the candidates, with moderator Candy Crowley of CNN contributing some of her own.  At least nobody asked whether they liked sausage or pepperoni on their pizza.

The Town Hall format allowed the President and former Governor Romney to interact with one another as they moved across the stage, but sometimes it seemed as if they were about to exchange physical as well as verbal blows.  Crowley did a fine job playing traffic cop, but there were times when she looked like a befuddled pro wrestling referee, having her back turned while one wrestler smashes his opponent with a folding chair.

Obama may have won this round, but he won't get much of a bounce from it.  Round Three is Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida, and it's supposed to deal with international issues.  Maybe the President can sneak in a line about Romney's being the unwitting star of a secretly-made tape that originated there.