Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands following the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Tuesday, October 16, moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. See the best photos of the first presidential debate.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama embrace after the debate.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney point fingers at each other.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speak over each other.
President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Romney point the finger at each other.
CNN's Candy Crowley moderates the second presidential debate between President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
President Obama and Romney clash during the debate.
Romney and President Obama interrupt each other during the debate.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama debate.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney both speak at the same time.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama go head to head.
Romney gestures to make a point as President Obama looks on.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney square off.
U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
President Obama promotes his policies as Mitt Romney listens.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses a question as President Obama listens.
President Obama awaits his turn to speak.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney greet the audience.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama greet each other on stage.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney shake hands.6.
President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Romney shake hands before the start of the debate.
Moderator Candy Crowley of CNN speaks to the audience prior to the start of a town hall-style presidential debate.
Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaks with members of the audience before the start of the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Tuesday, October 16.
First lady Michelle Obama awaits the start of the second presidential debate.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann await the start of the second presidential debate in a holding room.
The audience gathers in the stands prior to the start of the presidential debate on Tuesday.
Co-chairs Frank Fahrenkopf, left, and Mike McCurry of the Commission on Presidential Debates speak in the lead up to the town hall-style debate.
Audience members take photographs while they wait for the debate to begin.
Members of the audience have taken their seats.
- NEW: President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney battle on taxes, immigration and energy
- NEW: Obama says voters "can't buy" Romney's sales pitch
- NEW: Romney says Obama failed in his four years as president
- Audience members ask questions, with CNN's Candy Crowley serving as moderator
Watch a replay of Tuesday's presidential debate at 12 p.m. ET and CNN's exclusive expert analysis on CNN TV, CNN.com and CNN's apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. Clip-and-share your favorite debate moments on Facebook and Twitter, and join the discussion on our live blog.
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama fought back and Republican challenger Mitt Romney mostly stood his ground.
A forceful Obama defended his record and challenged Romney on shifting positions in the 90-minute debate, arguing his Republican rival's policies would favor the wealthy if elected.
Romney repeatedly attacked Obama's record, saying millions of unemployed people and sluggish economic recovery showed the president's policies had failed.
Obama was more animated and engaging than his understated and widely panned performance in their first debate nearly two weeks ago.
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He and Romney, who also aggressively made his points, walked the floor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, holding microphones, raising their voices and repeatedly challenging each other's points.
"Governor Romney says he's got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn't have a five-point plan; he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules," Obama said about his opponent's approach for boosting the economy.
Romney shot back that Obama was "great as a speaker, but his policies don't work."
"That's what this election is all about," Romney said, saying he would prioritize middle class growth. "It's about how we can get the middle class of this country a bright and prosperous future."
Transcript: Second presidential debate
However, Romney failed to provide further specifics of his tax policy, even when one audience member asked about unspecified deductions and loopholes the candidate says he will eliminate.
On a sensitive foreign policy topic, the candidates clashed at the front of the stage over the September 11 terrorist attack in Libya that killed four Americans, with Romney suggesting the Obama administration played politics by failing to immediately acknowledge what happened.
Obama shot back that the suggestion anyone in his administration would play politics on such an issue was "offensive." When Obama said he called it a terrorist attack shortly afterward, Romney challenged him, and Obama responded "check the transcript."
CNN Electoral Map
Moderator Candy Crowley, the CNN chief political correspondent, cut in to say both men were right -- Obama called it a terrorist attack when he said he did, but the administration took longer to fully explain what occurred.
Unlike the first presidential debate, the format was town hall-style, with audience members asking the questions. Crowley was the first woman to serve as moderator of a presidential debate in 20 years.
The first question came from a 20-year-old college student, worried about whether he'd be able to support himself after graduation.
"More debt and less jobs. I'm going to change that. I know what it takes to create good jobs again," Romney said, addressing the first-time voter. "When you come out in 2014 -- I presume I'm going to be president -- I'm going to make sure you get a job."
Test your knowledge with debate trivia
Obama needed a strong debate to try to blunt Romney's rise in the polls since their first showdown in Denver, when analysts and polls indicated the GOP challenger won a clear victory.
The most recent CNN "poll of polls" -- an aggregate of the latest major surveys -- showed Romney with a slight edge nationally at 48%-47%. In the battleground states considered up-for-grabs, polls show Romney has narrowed Obama's lead or caught the president just three weeks before the election.
The Obama campaign conceded he had a bad night in the first debate and promised a more aggressive approach in New York. A third and final debate focusing on foreign policy will take place October 22 in Florida.
Polls show voters consider the economy to be the most important election issue.
Where they stand: The candidates and issues
Unemployment fell below 8% in September for the first time since the month Obama took office in 2009. However, millions remain out of work and U.S. economic growth is anemic.
Romney and his campaign have sought to frame the election as a referendum on Obama's presidency, citing joblessness, slow recovery from the recession and chronic federal deficits and debt as reasons to deny a second term.
For their part, Obama and Democrats have tried to make the election about competing visions for the future. They argue Republican proposals to repeal major legislation, such as health care and Wall Street reforms, while cutting government and expanding tax cuts without identifying additional revenue sources would stall a sluggish but steady recovery.
A snapshot of the nation: CNN poll of polls
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