SOUTHERN STRATEGIES:President Obama dines on a “man of the people” meal yesterday at a Miami burger joint. (AFP/Getty Images)
SOUTHERN STRATEGIES: President Obama dines on a “man of the people” meal yesterday at a Miami burger joint, while Mitt Romney takes the stage in Sarasota. (
)
SARASOTA, Fla. — President Obama and Mitt Romney yesterday both battled for Florida as a new poll showed the president holding a 5-point lead in this must-win swing state.
A Fox News Channel poll showed Obama besting Romney 49-44 percent in the Sunshine State, which boasts 29 of the 270 electoral votes need to win the White House and has a storied history of deciding close races.
The importance of Florida was clear as Air Force One and Romney’s jetliner crossed paths while barnstorming the state.
Obama courted key Latino voters at a forum hosted by the Spanish-language Univision TV network at the University of Miami.
He then flew to Tampa for a fund-raising event, where Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder performed for guests, including former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned- Obama supporter.
Romney went after seniors at a rally in Sarasota, before jetting to a fund-raiser in Palm Beach.
Latinos make up about 16 percent of the population in Florida, and people 65 and older account for about 13 percent, according to US Census data.
The Fox poll showed Obama leading in several key demographics, including Latinos by 19 points. The president also led by 42 points among voters under age 35 and by 19 points among women.
Romney led by 10 points among men, 7 points among voters over age 55 and 17 points among voters over 65.
In Miami, Obama tried to repair damage done to his relationship with Latinos by breaking his promise to enact comprehensive immigration reform.
“As you remind me, my biggest failure is that we haven’t gotten comprehensive immigration reform done,” he said. “But it’s not for lack of trying or desire.”
He said that after nearly four years he had “learned some lessons.
“Most important is you can’t change Washington from inside, only from the outside,” he said. “That’s how some of our biggest accomplishments, like health care, got done — mobilizing the American people.”
Romney pounced on that line, saying it was yet another example of Obama giving up when faced with the country’s problems.
“The president today threw in the white flag of surrender again,” Romney told an enthusiastic crowd of about 4,600 in Sarasota.
“He said he can’t change Washington from the inside, he can only change it from outside. Well, we’re going to give him that chance in November. He’s going outside!”
Romney said Obama also surrendered when it came to bridging the partisan divide in Washington, fixing the economy, protecting Medicare and tackling the government’s massive deficits and debt.
“I’ll get the job done. We’ll change Washington,” he said to cheers and applause. “We’ll restore the economic strength we need to put people back to work.”
Romney has stepped up his campaign schedule and added a more energetic delivery to his speeches, as the race heats up with just 45 days until the election.
Romney for weeks has concentrated on fund-raising events. But now he has spent two days on the stump in Forida, will campaign in Colorado this weekend and then take a three-day bus tour in the crucial battleground of Ohio.
The Fox News poll also showed Romney trailing in Ohio 49-42 percent, as well as in the swing state of Virginia 50-43 percent.
New campaign reports reveal that Obama ended August with $89 million in the bank — boosting his monthly fund-raising to $85 million — while Romney had $50 million in the bank and raised $67 million.
The pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future spent a stunning $21 million but raised only $7 million in August, while the pro-Obama Priorities USA raised $10 million.