Obama's challenge: He needs to win by knockout tonight

Obama has two big problems going into the second showdown with Romney. One, he needs to win just to level the score. And two, even if he wins at Hofstra, it’s likely the second debate will have fewer viewers and receive less attention than the first. So the president actually needs not only to win, but to win big to return to an equal debate footing with Romney after the disaster in Denver…

The strategist wants to see a forceful Obama — a really forceful Obama — take on Romney. “The ’47 percent,’ he ought to be shoving up Romney’s a–,” the Democrat says. “Romney can say he apologized. But Obama can say an apology doesn’t change things. Romney didn’t misspeak. That was a two-minute oration that basically gave Romney’s view of America.”…

The worry for the president is that even if he wins, or draws even, it just won’t be as big a deal as that night in Denver. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who has played President Obama in Romney’s debate prep sessions, says second debates generally don’t matter as much as the first go-around. “They never do, typically, with the exception of Ronald Reagan’s second debate, when he came back so strong,” says Portman. “It’s hard to match that first debate in terms of people watching and the impact it’s going to have.”