MERIDIAN —     President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will square off tonight in the first of three televised debates.

    Local and state political leaders believe the first volley to be fired tonight is important.

    "The president has to be sharp and get his message across to the American voter in a clear and precise way," said State Sen. Sampson Jackson II, a Democrat. "The president's strengths lie in that he is a great leader and speaker."

    State Rep. Greg Snowden (R-Meridian), who is the speaker pro tempore, said the debate could be the biggest campaign event of this election year.

    "Gov. Romney will focus on the economy because he is a successful businessman and the economy is the biggest issue among voters," Snowden said. "I see the president playing more defense than offense. He will be on guard not to make a mistake because his record so far is not very good. I would be surprised if he came out swinging at Romney."

    Local political party leaders like John Flowers, chairman of the Lauderdale County Democratic Party, and Tyler Norman, vice-chairman of the Lauderdale County Republican Party, will be glued to the TV tonight to see how their candidates fare.

    "This first debate will set the tone for the rest of the campaign," Flowers said. "Both men will be trying to get their major issues out there in front of the voters and I think this debate will show Romney for who he is not."

    Flowers believes the president's job creation programs and economic policies have been good for the country and gave the president high marks in foreign policy. Flowers believes what will be evident after the debate is just how out of touch Romney is with the majority of the American voter population.

    "I think the Republican Party is disappointed Romney has made it this far," Flowers said. "He cannot relate to the voters like the president can."

    But Norman believes Romney will connect with the voters. Norman said Romney will speak passionately about the issues, such as the economy, job creation and foreign policy, in addition to addressing the financial future of the nation.

    "Romney's strengths are his business and financial backgrounds, and he will use that to get his message across on both how the president has failed and where Romney can succeed," Norman said. "Obama promised to lower unemployment and create a lot of jobs and it just hasn't happened."

    Tonight's debate will be held at the University of Colorado in Denver, beginning at 8 p.m. The debate will be broadcast live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC as well as cable news channels.