Romney chides Obama over 'shortsightedness'

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Romney chides Obama over 'shortsightedness'

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Mitt Romney chided President Barack Obama for calling on Americans to vote for revenge.

03 November,2012 07:43 pm

Three days before voters chose between giving Obama a second term or sending him packing back to Chicago, the rivals chased one another through a handful of states that will decide Tuesdays too-close-to-call election.Romney was up early in New Hampshire, which has only four of the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the White House but could punch above its weight in a tight finish, accusing Obama of demonizing political foes.I wont represent just one party, Ill represent one nation, Romney told a crowd at an airport rally outside Portsmouth, and warned Obama would find it impossible to work with congressional Republicans if he wins re-election.Romney also debuted a new political ad on Saturday, seizing on Obamas comment in Ohio on Friday when he told supporters angry at the Republicans not to boo but to vote, saying votings the best revenge.The ad featured Romney telling his biggest crowd of the campaign in Ohio also Friday that Obama asked his supporters to vote for revenge -- for revenge.Instead, I ask the American people to vote for love of country, Romney said.While Romney was campaigning, Obama was back in Washington visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as New York and New Jersey struggle to deal with the aftermath of murderous superstorm Sandy.We still have a long way to go, said Obama, stressing he had no time for government red tape which could hold up the relief effort, after discussing the crisis with the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.The Obama campaign enjoys the comparison between Obama doing his job managing the government while Romney campaigns as polls show a majority of Americans approve of the presidents handling of Sandy.With time running down until the election, Obama soon headed back to the campaign trail, with a long day of campaign stops planned in Ohio, the possible tipping point state before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa.He will wrap up his day with a late night rally in Virginia, a state where he and Romney are locked in a tight race.Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which drew at least 18,000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, Romney left New Hampshire for trips to Colorado and Iowa.In a show of close combat on the last weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town of Dubuque, within hours of one another.Latest polls show Obama and Romney tied nationally, but Obama appears to be solidifying his position in enough of the eight or so swing states that will decide the election to support his hopes of a second term.New surveys by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News Saturday showed the president up by 47 to 49 percent in Florida and leading Romney by 51 to 45 percent in Ohio, double the margin in the current RealClearPolitics average.A Mason Dixon poll for the Miami Herald, however, had Romney up by six points in Florida, which the Republican, who also needs Ohio, cannot afford to lose if he is to be elected Americas 45th president.The Obama and Romney campaigns have sharply differing views of the race.The presidents team believe that early voting and polling data, plus the presidents grass roots turnout machine, mean that Obama will prevail in a close race.But Romneys camp believes opinion polls are overstating the proportion of Democrats in the electorate and that their candidate is poised to ride the support of independent voters to victory on Tuesday.On Friday, Obama earlier evaded a last-minute time bomb as the economy pumped out more jobs than expected in October.Romney, however, seized on an uptick in the jobless rate by a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent to bemoan an economy at a virtual standstill.Obama, campaigning in Ohio Friday repudiated Romneys claim to being an agent of change, accusing him instead of trying to massage the facts, highlighting a Romney ad that claims that Chrysler plans to outsource jobs to China to produce its Jeep vehicles.I know we are close to an election, but this isnt a game. These are peoples jobs. These are peoples lives, Obama said, noting that auto bosses had directly contradicted Romney on the attack.The president repeatedly touts his decision to bail out indebted US automakers in a politically unpopular 2009 move that helped restore the industry to health.One in eight jobs in Ohio are linked to the sector, and Romneys opposition to the bailout has emerged as a liability for the Republican.