Nail-biting race in US presidential election

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Nail-biting race in US presidential election

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With the US presidential election three days away, no one is sure who the winner will be.

03 November,2012 07:14 am

Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney have left no stone unturned to overshadow each other.The encouraging Labor Department report provided a final snapshot of a slowly improving economy as President Barack Obama battles for re-election Tuesday in a neck-and-neck race against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney focused their final arguments on the political battlegrounds of the upper Midwest on Friday, a region likely to make the difference in a tight White House race.In dueling campaign appearances in the swing states of Ohio and Wisconsin, the two contenders battled over the economy on a day when the jobless rate ticked up to 7.9 percent but employers stepped up their hiring.In Wisconsin, where polls show Romney trailing Obama, the Republican laid out the case for his election and said the October jobs report was more evidence of the presidents failing leadership.The question of this election comes down to this: do you want more of the same or do you want real change? Romney said in a suburb of Milwaukee after getting the endorsement of former Green Bay Packers star quarterback Bart Starr.On a stop in Ohio, the most heavily contested swing state and a crucial cog in the electoral math for both candidates, Obama said the jobs report was evidence we have made real progress.Obama, whose federal rescue of the auto industry has been popular in a state where one in eight jobs is auto-related, hammered Romney for a recent statement that Chrysler planned to move Jeep production to China.Chrysler has refuted that, noting it was adding workers to build more Jeeps in Ohio, and the two campaigns have aired advertisements over the issue. Obama said Romney was trying to scare workers in a desperate bid to make up ground in Ohio.I know were close to an election, but this isnt a game. These are peoples jobs, these are peoples lives, Obama said.You dont scare up hard-working Americans just to scare up some votes.While campaigning in the Midwestern heartland, Obamas team was no doubt casting an eye on the Northeast where New York-area motorists were scrambling for gasoline on a third day of panic buying after the storm Sandy devastated the area.Obama won plaudits for turning his attention to storm relief earlier this week, but growing frustration among victims could hinder the Democrat if the federal response is deemed unsatisfactory.With three days left until Tuesdays election, Obama and Romney are essentially tied in national polls, but the president holds a slight edge in the battleground states that will decide who gains the 270 electoral votes needed to win.