Obama cramming for debates, working on being concise

Forced to juggle his governing and campaigning responsibilities, Obama is squeezing in debate prep when he can.

“We don’t have the same luxury that Romney does in terms of time,” Obama’s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said.

That means Obama uses flights to Nevada, Colorado and other election swing states on Air Force One to read up on Romney’s positions, or studies in the evenings at the White House when he’s in town…

Aides want him to work on being brief – a departure from his tendency to be long-winded, which can turn off TV viewers and make him look aloof.

“He’s got to speak shorter, that’s all,” Axelrod said. “He just hasn’t had to do that for the last four years so that’s a part of the discipline of preparing for these debates.”