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Summary The US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to keep voters focused on the US economy.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wanted to keep voters focused on the U.S. economy Friday instead of a fellow Republicans comments that pregnancy caused by rape is something God intended.With President Barack Obama spending the day at the White House after a two-day dash across eight battleground states that will determine the tight election, Romney planned what he called a major speech on the economy, the top issue among voters with less than two weeks left before Nov. 6.Romney, however, faced questions about the remarks of Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock and new questions about his role in a key supporters divorce. Court documents released Thursday revealed that Romney created a special class of company stock for Staples founder Tom Stembergs then-wife as a favor. Romney uses his equity capital firm Bains involvement in the creation of the office supply company to show off his business skills.Romney has tried to ignore both lines of attack, instead accusing Obama of playing partisan politics in an incredibly shrinking campaign.Opinion polls show Obama and Romney tied nationally. A new Associated Press-GfK poll of likely voters had Romney up 47 percent to 45 percent, a result within the polls margin of sampling error.The presidential contest has crossed the $2 billion fundraising mark, putting the election on track to be the costliest in history. Its being fueled by a campaign finance system vastly altered by the new proliferation of independent political action committees that are bankrolling TV ads in closely contested statesRomney was to deliver his speech on the economy in the battleground state of Iowa. Instead of more spending, more borrowing from China and higher taxes from Washington, well renew our faith in the power of free people pursuing their dreams, Romney says in excerpts his campaign released before the speech. He argues that Obama has no proposals that can meet the challenges of the times.The government on Friday said U.S. economic growth improved to a slightly faster 2 percent rate in the third quarter, but Romney called that discouraging and said he could do better.Tepid growth has given Romney an opening to challenge Obamas assessment that the economy is moving in the right direction. While Romney is seen by voters as better qualified to handle the economy recovery, recent polling shows Americans are increasingly positive about the direction of the country.Obama returned to Washington late Thursday after a 40-hour, coast-to-coast tour of eight battleground states. On Friday, he will reach out to key constituencies in an MTV interview aimed at rallying the youth vote and an interview with American Urban Radio Networks, which has a largely black audience.The U.S. presidential race is not decided by popular vote but on a state-by-state basis. The outcome depends on nine of the 50 U.S. states Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado that do not reliably vote Democrat or Republican.Obama on Thursday intensified pressure on Romney to break ties with Mourdock over the candidates remarks on abortion.The comments offered the Obama campaign a new opportunity to highlight differences with Romney on an issue important to women. The president had long enjoyed an edge with that voting bloc, but a recent Associated Press-GfK poll found Romney had erased the presidents 16-point advantage among female likely voters.Obama advisers insist theyve lost no ground with women, but their eagerness to highlight Romneys connections to Mourdock showed a degree of nervousness within the campaign.With the candidates virtually tied in national polling, a significant lead among women voters could tip the balance.
