Background on Tonight's Debate

Advisory: Be sure to have plenty of popcorn and alcohol on hand. It's the only way to get through these things. And keep in mind what H.L. Mencken observed: "Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage."

Topic: Domestic policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: University of Denver in Denver, Colorado
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney
Moderator: Jim Lehrer (Host of NewsHour on PBS)

The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.

The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.

And as always Obama's pet, the Teleprompter will be close by.