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| A Final Push in Swing States, in a Bid to Break the Stalemate | A Final Push in Swing States, in a Bid to Break the Stalemate |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The presidential candidates on Tuesday will begin their last, intense assaults on a handful of battleground states, aiming to break the nation’s political stalemate by marrying repeated personal appearances with multimillion dollar TV ad barrages. | WASHINGTON — The presidential candidates on Tuesday will begin their last, intense assaults on a handful of battleground states, aiming to break the nation’s political stalemate by marrying repeated personal appearances with multimillion dollar TV ad barrages. |
| On Tuesday, airports in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Ohio will be seized with the comings and goings of campaign jets as President Obama, Mitt Romney and their running mates campaign during the final and post-debate phase of the long contest to occupy the White House. The swing-state saturation continues on Wednesday, when Mr. Obama plans a continuous, 48-hour, six-state blitz. Mr. Romney lands in Iowa on Wednesday just hours after the president departs. Both campaigns have enough money to pay for thousands of thirty- and sixty-second spots throughout the contested states. | On Tuesday, airports in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Ohio will be seized with the comings and goings of campaign jets as President Obama, Mitt Romney and their running mates campaign during the final and post-debate phase of the long contest to occupy the White House. The swing-state saturation continues on Wednesday, when Mr. Obama plans a continuous, 48-hour, six-state blitz. Mr. Romney lands in Iowa on Wednesday just hours after the president departs. Both campaigns have enough money to pay for thousands of thirty- and sixty-second spots throughout the contested states. |
| One of those will be a new commercial from Mr. Obama in which the president extols progress the country has made toward economic recovery and talks directly to voters about his plan for the next four years. It will run in seven battleground states, the campaign said. | One of those will be a new commercial from Mr. Obama in which the president extols progress the country has made toward economic recovery and talks directly to voters about his plan for the next four years. It will run in seven battleground states, the campaign said. |
| “Read my plan, compare it to Governor Romney’s and decide which is better for you,” Mr. Obama says in the ad. “It’s an honor to be your president, and I’m asking for your vote so together we can keep moving America forward.” | “Read my plan, compare it to Governor Romney’s and decide which is better for you,” Mr. Obama says in the ad. “It’s an honor to be your president, and I’m asking for your vote so together we can keep moving America forward.” |
| Mr. Obama’s campaign is also printing 3.5 million of copies of a new, 20-page booklet of his promises for the next four years, campaign officials said. A short version of the booklet has been posted online and 1.5 million copies of the full document will be distributed to campaign field offices across the battleground states. The effort is a response to Mr. Romney’s repeated criticism that the president has no second-term agenda. | |
| “The new economic patriotism,” the booklet says on the cover. “A plan for jobs & middle class security.” | “The new economic patriotism,” the booklet says on the cover. “A plan for jobs & middle class security.” |
| Mr. Romney’s campaign also released a new ad on Tuesday, using footage from Monday’s foreign policy debate in which Mr. Romney accuses the president of conducting an “apology tour,” a charge that Mr. Obama and independent fact-checkers say is false. | Mr. Romney’s campaign also released a new ad on Tuesday, using footage from Monday’s foreign policy debate in which Mr. Romney accuses the president of conducting an “apology tour,” a charge that Mr. Obama and independent fact-checkers say is false. |
| “The president began with an apology tour, of going to various nations and criticizing America,” Mr. Romney says in the ad. He said America’s adversaries “looked at that and saw weakness.” | “The president began with an apology tour, of going to various nations and criticizing America,” Mr. Romney says in the ad. He said America’s adversaries “looked at that and saw weakness.” |
| The final period of retail and electronic campaigning signals the abrupt end to a monthlong phase dominated by the debates and their heavily spun aftermath. | The final period of retail and electronic campaigning signals the abrupt end to a monthlong phase dominated by the debates and their heavily spun aftermath. |
| Mr. Obama used the final presidential debate of his career on Monday to repeatedly confront Mr. Romney, assailing him for offering “wrong and reckless” leadership on foreign policy and repeatedly seeking to return the conversation to America’s economic problems at home. | Mr. Obama used the final presidential debate of his career on Monday to repeatedly confront Mr. Romney, assailing him for offering “wrong and reckless” leadership on foreign policy and repeatedly seeking to return the conversation to America’s economic problems at home. |
| He continued the no-holds-barred critique of Mr. Romney Tuesday morning at a rally in Delray Beach, Fla., where he accused his rival of changing his positions so many times that he needs Obamacare to cover his pre-existing condition of “Romnesia.” | |
| “Florida,” Mr. Obama said, “You know me. You can trust what I say.” | |
| Strategists for the Republican campaign said Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, enters the final two weeks having upended the race’s summertime dynamic and in a position to win the presidency. | |
| Recent polls back up these claims that Mr. Romney appears to have momentum on his side. Mr. Obama’s double-digit leads from a month ago in national and state surveys have gotten much smaller, if not evaporated. In several polls, Mr. Romney has all but tied the race with just 14 days left. | Recent polls back up these claims that Mr. Romney appears to have momentum on his side. Mr. Obama’s double-digit leads from a month ago in national and state surveys have gotten much smaller, if not evaporated. In several polls, Mr. Romney has all but tied the race with just 14 days left. |
| But the real test of Mr. Romney’s ability to win will not come until after both camps engage in a brutal, last push. Key to that push is the race to 270, the number of electoral votes needed to win the election. With more than 40 states now basically uncompetitive, the two campaigns are intensifying their focus on the six or seven that are truly close. | But the real test of Mr. Romney’s ability to win will not come until after both camps engage in a brutal, last push. Key to that push is the race to 270, the number of electoral votes needed to win the election. With more than 40 states now basically uncompetitive, the two campaigns are intensifying their focus on the six or seven that are truly close. |
| Those calculations are fueling a travel schedule that will force the president and Mr. Romney to visit just about every region of the country multiple times. There are competitive battleground states in the South, the West, the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. None can be taken lightly in a race that remains very close. | Those calculations are fueling a travel schedule that will force the president and Mr. Romney to visit just about every region of the country multiple times. There are competitive battleground states in the South, the West, the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. None can be taken lightly in a race that remains very close. |
| After visiting Florida and Ohio on Tuesday, Mr. Obama’s six-state swing on Wednesday will begin with stops in Davenport, Iowa; Denver and Las Vegas. Campaign aides said the president would call undecided voters and campaign volunteers while flying on Air Force One between stops. On Thursday, Mr. Obama will be back in Florida and Ohio, as well as Virginia. | After visiting Florida and Ohio on Tuesday, Mr. Obama’s six-state swing on Wednesday will begin with stops in Davenport, Iowa; Denver and Las Vegas. Campaign aides said the president would call undecided voters and campaign volunteers while flying on Air Force One between stops. On Thursday, Mr. Obama will be back in Florida and Ohio, as well as Virginia. |
| Also on Wednesday, Mr. Obama will make a stop in Los Angeles to tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. | Also on Wednesday, Mr. Obama will make a stop in Los Angeles to tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. |
| Mr. Romney will begin his post-debate travels on Tuesday with his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, as both men campaign in Nevada and Colorado. On Wednesday, Mr. Romney will make another stop in Nevada and then continue on to Iowa. | Mr. Romney will begin his post-debate travels on Tuesday with his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, as both men campaign in Nevada and Colorado. On Wednesday, Mr. Romney will make another stop in Nevada and then continue on to Iowa. |
| In previous campaigns, when candidates abided by federal spending limits during the general election, the two sides were often forced by financial realities to abandon long-shot states in favor of a final push in those they thought they could really win. | In previous campaigns, when candidates abided by federal spending limits during the general election, the two sides were often forced by financial realities to abandon long-shot states in favor of a final push in those they thought they could really win. |
| But with Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney both flush with cash now, neither campaign showed any desire to pull out of any of the potential battleground states. | But with Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney both flush with cash now, neither campaign showed any desire to pull out of any of the potential battleground states. |
| The president continued to campaign in Florida even as polls suggested that Mr. Romney is stronger there. Mr. Romney scheduled two stops in Nevada, where polls suggest that Mr. Obama is doing well. | The president continued to campaign in Florida even as polls suggested that Mr. Romney is stronger there. Mr. Romney scheduled two stops in Nevada, where polls suggest that Mr. Obama is doing well. |
| Their efforts were also supplemented by third-party groups that are also targeting the same battleground states on behalf of the candidates Crossroads GPS, a group backing Mr. Romney, is releasing a new ad in Wisconsin and Ohio featuring the parents of a sick child that Mr. Romney befriended years ago. | Their efforts were also supplemented by third-party groups that are also targeting the same battleground states on behalf of the candidates Crossroads GPS, a group backing Mr. Romney, is releasing a new ad in Wisconsin and Ohio featuring the parents of a sick child that Mr. Romney befriended years ago. |
| “To spent time with a 14-year-old boy in his last days, you cannot help but know that he’s caring,” the boy’s mother says of Mr. Romney in the ad. “He cares about people and about their needs. I think he’s going to be able to get us back on track. I really do.” | “To spent time with a 14-year-old boy in his last days, you cannot help but know that he’s caring,” the boy’s mother says of Mr. Romney in the ad. “He cares about people and about their needs. I think he’s going to be able to get us back on track. I really do.” |
| Priorities USA, Mr. Burton’s group, is planning to spend several million dollars on ads in the battleground states that will try to refocus attention on Mr. Romney’s record at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded. | Priorities USA, Mr. Burton’s group, is planning to spend several million dollars on ads in the battleground states that will try to refocus attention on Mr. Romney’s record at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded. |
| The group will pay to rerun one of its early ads, called “Stage,” which describes one of the companies that Bain closed and the impact on workers. | The group will pay to rerun one of its early ads, called “Stage,” which describes one of the companies that Bain closed and the impact on workers. |
| Mr. Burton’s group said that it will also produce new ads “featuring stories of people who represent the thousands of middle-class workers who lost their jobs, their pensions and their health benefits after Romney and his firm broke promises and bankrupted companies.” | Mr. Burton’s group said that it will also produce new ads “featuring stories of people who represent the thousands of middle-class workers who lost their jobs, their pensions and their health benefits after Romney and his firm broke promises and bankrupted companies.” |
Helene Cooper contributed reporting from Delray Beach, Fla. |