Obama at a campaign event at the Franklin County fairgrounds in Hilliard, Ohio today (REUTERS)
Mitt Romney today began making his closing argument in a neck-and-neck race against President Obama, promising to bring “renewal and purpose and optimism” back to America.
“You can choose your future,” Romney declared. “You can stay on the path of the last four years, or you can choose real change.”
171,000 JOBS ADDED IN OCTOBER, UNEMPLOYMENT RISES TO 7.9 PERCENT
His offer of “real change” evoked a stinging comparison to Obama’s 2008 campaign promise of “hope and change,” reminding voters that the election Tuesday is a referendum on the Obama presidency.
“Words are cheap. A record is real,” he said, blasting what he described as Obama’s record of broken promises to reduce unemployment to near 5 percent, to bring bipartisanship to Washington and lower healthcare costs with ObamaCare.
“Do you want more of the same, or do you want real change?” Romney asked the enthusiastic crowd at a fairground in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis.
He said that America doesn’t have to settle for another four years of economic despair, high gasoline prices and stubborn joblessness.
He made a reference to today’s October jobs report, which showed the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent last month to 7.9 percent.
“The only thing that stands between us and some of the best years we have known is lack of leadership. And that’s why we have elections,” Romney said. “This Tuesday is a moment to look into the future and imagine what we can do … to put the past four years behind us and start building a new future.”
Romney debuted the new stump speech as he and Obama crisscrossed the country in a mad dash of non-stop campaigning until Election Day.
The race remains a statistical dead heat across most battleground states, including Ohio, Florida and Virginia, which are the focus of Romney’s electoral strategy.
The 4,000 supporters at the rally inside an exhibition hall greeted Romney with chants of “four more days,” counting down to Election Day and mocking the chants of “four more years” heard at Obama rallies.
“I want you to stay with us all the way to the finish line,” he told the cheering crowd, “because we’re going to win.”
Romney promised to use his business savvy to help reignite the US economy and the bipartisan spirit he forged as a Republican governor of Massachusetts to break the partisan gridlock in Washington.
“Four years ago, candidate Obama promised to do so very much, but he has fallen so very short,” he said. “President Obama promised change, but he could not deliver it. I promise change, and I have a record of achieving it,” said Romney.
Romney pledged not to repeat what he described as the mistakes of the Obama presidency as he takes on the stagnant economy and stubborn joblessness.
“I won’t waste any time complaining about my predecessor. I won’t spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation unrelated to economic growth,” he said, in an obvious reference to Obama.
“From Day One, I will go to work to help Americans get back to work,” vowed Romney.
Meanwhile, President Obama is trumpeting the new jobs report.
“We’ve created 5.4 million jobs, and this morning we learned that companies hired more workers in October than at any time in the last eight months. The American auto industry is back on top,” Obama told an estimated crowd of 2,800 outside Columbus.
He was referring to an increase in private payrolls by 184,000 jobs, a stat also highlighted by his economic advisor.
But Obama added: “We have more work to do.”
Obama and Romney are barnstorming Ohio today in a feverish battle for votes, with just five days remaining to make their case to voters.
Obama also spoke to recovery efforts in New York and New Jersey, amid fresh images of suffering on Staten Island and complaints about resources being diverted for the New York City Marathon.
“As a nation we mourn those who were lost. You can only imagine what so many families are going through right now. We stand with the people of New York and New Jersey and Connecticut every step of the way,” he told a crowd of more than 2,000 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds near Columbus.
“There’s a lot of work that still remains to be done,” he said. A campaign aide, asked about Obama’s continued campaigning, said Obama nearly lost his voice from being on the phone in between campaign stops, and Obama told the crowd he had just gotten off the phone with disaster officials.
Obama then went after Romney for a campaign ad that blamed Obama for Chrysler outsourcing Jeep production to China, something the company denied and Obama called “not true.”
“I understand that Gov. Romney is having a tough time here in Ohio because he was against the auto bailout,” Obama said. “You don’t scare hardworking Americans just to scare up some votes.
With the nation still moving toward the “fiscal cliff,” Obama said he’d work with Republicans, but said: “I’m not just going to cut a deal which kicks students off of financial aid” and cuts other key programs.
“If that’s the price of peace, then I’m not going to pay that price,” he said, using language that pointed to the hostile relations between the parties right now.