Obama, Romney back to campaigning
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney resumed headto-head campaigning to make their closing arguments to voters in key battleground states with only five days remaining before election day.
After taking a respite from attacking each other as Atlantic superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast and during the initial recovery period, the two candidates argued in separate appearances Thursday about who is the best agent of change for the country.
“This is a time for big change, for real change,” Romney said in Roanoke, Va., adopting the theme Obama ran on in 2008.
Obama countered that the former Massachusetts governor’s change represents a return to policies of former president George W. Bush’s administration, and accused Romney of switching positions on issues just to get elected.
“We know what change looks like and what the governor is offering sure ain’t change,” Obama said in Green Bay.
“You may not agree with every decision I’ve made, you may be frustrated at the pace of change but you know what I believe, you know where I stand.”
Obama was endorsed Thursday by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the president has gained “some important victories on issues that will help define our future,” including climate change and health care. Bloomberg, a political independent who is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent company Bloomberg LP, made his endorsement in an opinion article published on Bloomberg View.
The election campaign has been the costliest in U.S. history and also may be one of the closest.
A Washington Post/ABC News national tracking poll released Wednesday showed Romney and Obama tied at 49 per cent among likely voters, based on interviews conducted Oct. 27-30. Yet Obama continues to hold an edge in many of the battleground states that both campaigns say will decide the election.
Obama leads Romney by six percentage points in Iowa among likely voters and is out front by smaller margins in New Hampshire and Wisconsin, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/ Marist College published Thursday. The poll shows Obama ahead 50 per cent to 44 per cent in Iowa, 49 per cent to 47 per cent in New Hampshire and 49 per cent to 46 per cent in Wisconsin. The three states have 20 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. A University of Cincinnati poll released Wednesday in Ohio, the state where the campaigns are competing the most aggressively, showed Obama backed by 48 per cent of likely voters while Romney had the support of 46 per cent.
Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the campaign isn’t surprised by polls showing a tight race in Wisconsin, a state the president won by 14 percentage points in 2008.
“We always knew that this state would be harder for us than in 2008,” Psaki said. “We certainly don’t look back and have any regrets on where we spent time and where we spent resources.”