Obama, Romney prepare for first face-to-face showdown

US President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney will share the stage for the first time Wednesday evening in Denver, Colorado as they square off in the first of three televised campaign debates, DPA reported.

The event is seen as a crucial test, particularly for Romney, who trails in opinion surveys and is running out of time, with just five weeks until the election to sway voters. Obama must also work to maintain his lead and win a second four-year term.

A nationwide poll of likely voters released Tuesday showed President Barack Obama's lead over challenger Mitt Romney slipping to 3 percentage points.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said 49 per cent of the people polled would vote for Obama, while 46 per cent said they would choose Romney. The 3-point difference is within the poll's margin of error, according to the pollsters.

The 90-minute debate could be a make-or-break moment for Romney who trails Obama not only in national opinion surveys, but in the handful of key states that will determine the election's outcome.

Tens of millions of television viewers are expected to watch. The Obama campaign said Wednesday that the president would get the first question.

Wednesday's debate will focus exclusively on domestic policy, with questions likely to revolve around the country's 8.1-per-cent unemployment rate and slow economic growth.

Obama has argued that, although the figures aren't where he would like them to be, there has been an improvement since the dire situation when he took office. Romney charges that Obama is simply incapable of overseeing a turnaround.

Also sure to be discussed are: Obama's health care reforms; government debt; taxes; and government benefits for pensioners and the poor.

Obama has been quick to attack Romney for proposed reforms to the Medicare healthcare programme for retirees. Obama also has pointed to tax policies that benefit the wealthy and alleged the Republicans would raise taxes on the middle class, something the Romney campaign has denied.

After Wednesday's contest, Obama and Romney will face two more debates, with one on October 16 featuring questions directly from voters and one on October 22 focused on foreign policy. The vice presidential candidates - Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan - will also debate on October 11.