Ohio observers see candidates 'ready to pounce'

• Republican-friendly group in Ohio focuses on jobs
• An observer calls one tough exchange "brutal"
• Gathering voted unanimously that Romney prevailed in the debate

VAN WERT, Ohio -- A Republican-friendly group of four couples gathered here to watch the second presidential debate, and the focus mainly was on one thing: the need for jobs, good jobs that their children can rely on.

"I want to see where they stand on job creation," said Mike Thomas, who has three kids in college and is concerned about their economic future.

Thomas, 48, and his wife, Chris, 44, agreed that Republican Mitt Romney dominated the last debate, but they're still looking for specifics from their candidate and President Obama.

Right from the start of the debate, Mike Thomas saw a different Obama. "Obama has come on a lot stronger than in the other one, and he had to."

In one tough exchange, he said, "It's brutal."

"I'm surprised how heated it is," agreed Jennifer Deitemeyer, who works in sales for a large company. "You can tell they are ready to pounce on each other."

The Thomases hosted the debate-watching party in their home in this small Ohio town where they grew up, a place that once thrived making barrels, cheese and other products. A Borden cheese factory closed in 1987. A devastating tornado killed two and injured many others, including Thomas, in 2002. He now uses a wheelchair.

The county is reliably Republican, but that dedication softened in 2008. The president reduced the vote for Sen. John McCain to 62%, down from 72% in 2004 for George W. Bush.

Van Wert's economy is much healthier now than four years ago. The unemployment rate fell to 6.8% in August, several percentage points lower than when Obama took office and the same as the statewide rate.

The auto industry revival may have played a role. But a worrisome sign is that the unemployment rate dropped mostly because the labor force got smaller, not because of a big jump in jobs. The county has 14% fewer workers today than in 2000.

"I'm really looking to hear more details about what either candidate is going to do about reversing the economic trends," said Susan Burchfield, 52, a mental health therapist, who has a daughter in college. "Both (candidates) look strong. I like that Romney is talking about the importance of the economy, jobs and what the differences are between the two."

Steve Trittschuh, a systems analyst, said he was impressed by Romney's criticism of high gas prices and his promise of middle-class tax cuts. "The figures on gas prices are there and not in dispute," he said.

Martin Burchfield, 51, an attorney, is chair of the county Republican Party. "I liked the second half better," he said. "There were times when they traded substantive information about taxes and immigration."

The gathering voted unanimously that Romney prevailed in the debate.

"For me, the election had been either you're for Obama or against Obama," said high school teacher Jennifer Trittschuh. "I didn't know Romney himself would be a person I could support on his own until tonight."