Obama, Romney Prepare For 2nd Presidential Debate

President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are prepping for their rematch.

Tuesday evening's confrontation will take place at Hofstra University on New York's Long Island, and will be in a "town-hall" format during which the candidates will take questions from the audience.

The Obama campaign is seeking to rebound from the president's lackluster performance at the first debate. It's promising a more energetic Obama onstage.

As for Romney, he spent Monday practicing at a hotel near his home in Massachusetts. His advisers suggest he will continue to moderate his message in tone, if not substance, as he did in the first debate.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has released a new advertisement. It features voters discussing the ways their economic conditions have improved. The president got a boost Monday from favorable economic news on retail sales.

Also Monday, Romney's campaign announced it had raised $170.4 million last month with the Republican Party, a little behind Obama's $181 million September haul with the Democratic Party.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)