Poll: Obama leading Romney 49% to 46% ahead of second debate

USPA News - A day before the second of three presidential debates ahead of the November election, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday shows President Barack Obama leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney by three points ? 49 percent to 46 percent. Of the 1,063 registered voters and 923 likely voters interviewed for the ABC News/Washington Post poll, 93 percent said they are closely following the 2012 presidential race.

The poll was was conducted by telephone between October 10 and 13, and the error margin is 3.5 points. The race for the White House has been virtually tied for months, but Obama is under a massive amount of pressure from Democrats to step up his game after a lackluster performance during the first debate on October 3. Obama has been preparing at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, since Saturday with the help of his top advisers. Campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing Monday that Obama is looking forward to answering questions from the American public during the second debate. "You should expect that he`s going to be firm but respectful in correcting the record and the times we expect Mitt Romney will hide from and distort his own policies. He`s energized and I expect he will also be making a passionate case," she said. Meanwhile, Romney has been practicing at his home in Belmont, Massachusetts. According to a report from POLITICO, the candidate and his advisers are struggling with how to replicate his successful performance during the first debate - focusing on stagecraft and body language. Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman, who is helping prep Romney for the second debate, told ABC`s This Week Sunday "they`ve (the Obama campaign) spent hundreds of millions of dollars around the country, including a lot in Ohio, mischaracterizing Governor Romney`s positions and misrepresenting him. And I think you`ll see that again at the debate on Tuesday night."