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Summary Republican nominee for the US presidential election Mitt Romney said he can change Washington.
Romney is seizing on President Barack Obamas comment that you cant change Washington from the inside. Grasping for a way to right his campaign and appeal to independents, the Republican nominee says he has what it takes to end the nasty partisanship in the nations capital.I can change Washington, Romney said Thursday. I will change Washington. Well get the job done from the inside. Republicans and Democrats will come together.Romney was expected to press the issue again Friday during a campaign rally in Nevada, a state hard hit by the nations housing and unemployment woes.Obama, who ran for president in 2008 on a pledge to fix Washingtons combative tone, said in an interview that he had come to the conclusion you cant change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside. Adding that he wanted people to speak out on issues, he went on to say: So something that Id really like to concentrate on in my second term is being in a much more constant conversation with the American people so that they can put pressure on Congress to help move some of these issues forward.After Romney focused on the cant change Washington from the inside segment of Obamas remarks, the presidents campaign countered quickly by noting that Romney said just that in 2007 when he was running for the 2008 Republican nomination: I dont think you change Washington from the inside. I think you change it from the outside.Both candidates were campaigning Friday in battleground states, with Romney stumping and raising cash in Nevada and Obama holding a rally in Woodbridge, Va., just a short trip from the White House. Obama won both states in 2008.Polling shows the race tight in both states, though Obama appears to have an edge in Virginia. Democrats with access to internal polling say Obama is up 3 or 4 percentage points over Romney in Virginia, a slimmer margin than in some recent public polling.Obama has also pulled ahead of Romney in cash on hand, a key measure of a campaigns financial strength. The Democrat has more than $88 million to spend in the campaigns final weeks while Romney has just over $50 million at his disposal.Romneys campaign is seeking to regroup after a rough stretch that included the emergence of a video in which he tells wealthy donors at a private fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax and that they believe they are victims and entitled to an array of federal benefits. Obama has cast those remarks as a sign that Romney is out of touch with most Americans.Romney is also facing criticism from some in his own party that hes spending too much time raising money and not enough time talking to voters in the eight or so battleground states that will decide the election. In response, his campaign added a Sunday rally in Colorado to his schedule and announced a three-day Ohio bus tour that kicks off Monday.The president will campaign this weekend in Wisconsin, a state Romney is trying to put in play. Republicans are hoping the addition of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket will help them claim victory there — or at least force Obama to spend time and money to hold the state.Even with Election Day under seven weeks away, voters across the country are already casting ballots. By weeks end, early voting will be under way in two dozen states.Obama was also making a play for older voters Friday by speaking via satellite to an AARP convention and taking questions from the groups members. The presidents campaign is seeking to gain an advantage with seniors and voters nearing retirement by attacking the Republican tickets plan for Medicare.The popular federal entitlement for seniors was the focus of a new television ad from the Obama campaign. The ad, scheduled to air Friday in Colorado, Florida and Iowa, presents a Democratic refrain — that Romney and Ryan would turn Medicare into a voucher program that could raise seniors health costs by up to $6,400 a year.Independent groups have said that a House Republican budget proposal led by Ryan could lead to higher costs for older Americans. But exactly how much is far from clear. The ad relies on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank, for the figure it cites.Supporters of the Ryan plan say competition among private insurance providers could wring waste out of the system and bring down costs.
