MELVILLE, N.Y. -- It’s carbo-loading for President Barack Obama as he gears up for tonight’s townhall style debate at Hofstra University here on Long Island. A campaign aide said the president had chicken and pasta for lunch. This was after exercising this morning while he was still at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., the site of his weekend of debate prep.
The president was asked how he felt about tonight’s debate as he walked the grounds of the resort with White House Senior Advisor David Plouffe and campaign adviser Anita Dunn.
“I feel fabulous," the president responded.
Obama spent 45 minutes this morning doing what the campaign is calling a debate “review” before stepping on Air Force One and making his way up to New York. Unlike the first presidential debate in Denver, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) accompanied the president on Air Force One today.
Following a brief walk through of the debate site, the president traveled here to a local hotel before making the 20-minute drive -- for most people without a motorcade -- to Hofstra's campus in Hempstead.
At the hotel, he’s expected to do another hour of debate prep with his campaign team and then spend time relaxing with Marty Nesbitt, one of his good friends from Chicago and Mike Ramos, a friend from Hawaii.
The first lady spent part of her day in North Carolina campaigning, but she’s expected to join President Obama in New York for a steak-and-potatoes dinner before attending the debate.
The second presidential debate airs on NBC and MSNBC at 9pET.
