In Florida, Obama fans liked what they saw

• Tampa is crucial to winning Florida, which is crucial to winning the election
• Most viewers at JJ's were Democratic supporters
• "He's killing it," said one observer of Obama's turnaround from the first debate

TAMPA -- The decisively Democratic crowd at JJ's Café & Bar in the Ybor City district of this city Tuesday night came to watch an emboldened President Obama — not the hesitant debater who rarely looked at the camera and seemed unsure of himself in the first presidential debate.

Right from the start, Obama seemed different — more assertive, more energetic — as he squared off with his Republican rival Mitt Romney, in the town-hall-style debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., said Savanah Goodland, 22, a University of South Florida humanities student in attendance.

"Shot out of a cannon," she said of Obama's demeanor. "He does well in these town hall debates. His energy is a lot better."

"He's killing it," said Joe Jay, 25. "He's turning in a much better performance than last time."

Goodland and Jay were joined by a few dozen other patrons who came to watch the debate at JJ's. The red-brick bar's two flat-screen TVs, normally showing MLB playoff games, flickered with the images of the two candidates as onlookers hooted or heckled. depending on what was being said.

Goodland said she has already made up her mind to vote for Obama. When not in school, she goes door-to-door around Tampa on behalf of the Obama campaign, explaining the issues and urging residents to vote next month. Before the debate, she said she wanted the rest of the world to see the candidate she believes in.

"He was really passive last time," she said. "We need a little bit of the arrogant, forceful side."

Few places in the USA are more crucial to the presidential election than Tampa and the surrounding area of Hillsborough County.

For the past decade, Hillsborough has been one of the most contested counties in one of the most contested states in the USA during presidential elections. The county went to Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, then flipped to the Democrats in 2008, when President Obama won it by 37,608 votes.

The area's diverse mix of Hispanics, African Americans, suburbanites, tomato farmers and urban dwellers makes it a competitive county in every national race and a bellwether for the state and nation, said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. At stake: Florida's all-important 29 Electoral College votes.

Republicans held their national convention here in September and both Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney use Tampa as their Florida headquarters. "It's usually the best predictor of where Florida's going to vote," MacManus said. "As Hillsborough goes, so goes Florida."

Sarah Capps, 28, of Tampa has been unemployed four times the past three years, despite nearly a decade's worth of work experience and a college degree in non-profit management. Despite the economic turmoil, Capps said she will vote for Obama again. Before the debate, Capps said she hoped the president would assert himself. She wasn't disappointed. "You can finally see the passion we saw with him at rallies," Capps said.said if women voters were unclear who to vote for before, prior to Tuesday, the debate should give them a clear choice.

Romney's stance on women's reproductive rights and his confrontations with moderator Candy Crowley should make him unelectable to women, she said.

"I can't back a candidate who will be disrespectful to a female commentator and disrespectful to female voters in general," Capps said. "That was a throwback to another generation, another decade."

Jada Dunwoody, 39, said Obama's comments on funding for Planned Parenthood and equal wages for women could sway undecided women voters his way. "He's a real candidate," Dunwoody said of Obama. "I don't think Romney, as a millionaire, has the same issues I have making $29,000 a year."

Joe Jay, 25, said Obama did a job much better time this time around, from better explaining issues to confronting Romney on specifics, Jay said.

One of the loudest cheers came when Obama criticized the lack of specifics in Romney's tax plan.

Obama "had to listen to what Romney said last time to call him out on his untruths," said Arthur Harris, 46. "He's not going to sit there and take it this time."

For Mable Smith, disabled and unemployed, the contest comes down to who will best protect the country's most vulnerable citizens.

Smith, 58, hurt her back on the job as a nurse nine years ago and subsists on an $892 monthly Social Security check.

She voted for Obama in 2008 and plans to do so again next month. On Tuesday, she showed up at JJ's to cheer on her president. "I want people to see the real Obama," Smith said. "I want people to see in his heart and soul that he cares about people."

The watch party at JJ's was organized by Tim Heberlein, a local consumer advocate who has volunteered for the Obama campaign. During the first presidential debate, Heberlein posted an open invite to watch the debate on Facebook. More than 70 people showed up.

Unlike four years ago, the candidates this time are so distinctly different that the choices are obvious, he said.

"This election is a lot less undecided at this point than last time. A lot of folks at this point have really made up their mind."

Overall, the president improved his outlook from the first debate. Said Goodland: "It was a 180-degree turnaround for Barack Obama this week."