A day after his address to world leaders at the United Nations, Obama will speak at two universities, hoping to generate the kind of enthusiasm among young voters that helped fuel his victory four years ago. [break]Romney plans three stops in major cities as part of a bus tour aimed at drawing a contrast with Obama on the economy, which remains the top issue for voters before the November election.
Both candidates in the tight race recognize how critical Ohio´s 18 electoral votes will be. Losing the state would dramatically narrow Romney´s path to the 270 state-by-state electoral college votes required to win the White House — and no Republican has ever lost Ohio and won the presidency.
With early voting set to begin in Ohio on Oct. 2, time is running out.
Obama´s visit marks his 13th trip to Ohio so far this year, his campaign said. Romney has visited the state 10 times since May 1, his campaign said, with an additional seven visits during the earlier primary campaign.
The president has the edge in Ohio six weeks out from Election Day, helped by signs of an improving economy. Obama has led Romney in a series of recent polls in the state. A Washington Post poll on Tuesday showed Obama with a lead that was outside the poll´s margin of error. Even on handling of the economy, where Romney until recently has had an advantage, Obama now leads.
For Romney, Ohio was already challenging because of the state´s better-than-average economy. The jobless rate in Ohio stands at 7.2 percent — almost a full percentage point lower than the national average. Romney and other Republicans credit Ohio´s Republican governor, John Kasich, but the good news undermines Romney´s pitch that Obama´s policies aren´t working.
The candidates exchanged attacks Tuesday over trade policies with China, an issue for working-class voters whose livelihoods have been affected by competition from Chinese manufacturers.
"When people cheat, that kills jobs," Romney said at an Ohio rally Tuesday. "China has cheated. I will not allow that to continue."
In a statement, Obama campaign spokeswoman Ben LaBolt criticized Romney´s own investments in Chinese companies. "How can we trust Mitt Romney to stand up to China when he profits from China breaking the rules?" he said in a statement.
The Obama campaign said the president planned Wednesday to highlight his record on China. The campaign said the president has brought more trade cases against China in one term than President George W. Bush did in two.
The Obama administration filed a complaint this month with the World Trade Organization over Chinese subsidies to its auto and auto parts industries, the latest in a series of actions dating back to 2009 to protest what U.S. manufacturers say are the unfair advantages China gives its own companies.
Romney has vowed to issue an executive order in his first day in office labeling China a currency manipulator, a designation that would trigger negotiations between the two countries and could ultimately lead to U.S. trade sanctions against China. The Obama administration has not been willing to take that step, which is opposed by the influential, non-governmental U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Obama´s campaign on Tuesday unveiled an ad that seeks to remind voters that Romney paid a lower tax rate in 2011 — just over 14 percent — than many middle-class families. The ad will air in Ohio and seven other competitive states.
Democrats worked to keep alive comments Romney made in a secretly recorded video, released last week, about how almost half of Americans see themselves as victims and are unwilling to take responsibility for their lives. They also dispatched former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to make the case that Romney is "writing off the middle class."
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