Which conservative did Piers Morgan ban from his show?

Politics

Here’s What to Expect From Obama, Romney During the 2-Week Sprint to Election Day

Oct. 23, 2012 8:09am Billy Hallowell

BOCA RATON, Fla. (TheBlaze/AP) — Their debates now history, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday open a two-week sprint to Election Day powered by adrenaline, a boatload of campaign cash and a determination to reach Nov. 6 with no would-have, should-have regrets in their neck-and-neck fight to the finish.

From here, the candidates will vastly accelerate their travel, ad spending and grass-roots mobilizing in a race that’s likely to cost upward of $2 billion by the time it all ends.

All the focus now is on locking down support in the nine states whose electoral votes are still considered up for grabs: Colorado, Iowa, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia. No surprise then, that Obama campaigns Tuesday in Florida and Ohio while Romney heads West to Nevada and Colorado.

Obama, Romney Will Have Packed Schedules During 2 Week Sprint to Election Day

US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (L) shake hands following the third and final presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012. The showdown focusing on foreign policy is being held in the crucial toss-up state of Florida just 15 days before the election and promises to be among the most watched 90 minutes of the entire 2012 campaign. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Neither candidate scored a knockout punch in their third and last debate Monday. Romney reined in the confrontational sniping that had marked the candidates’ last testy encounter, while Obama remaining somewhat contentious in his tone. And though the stated topic this time was foreign policy, both kept circling back to their plans for strengthening the fragile U.S. economy — Job 1 to American voters.

Closing out their trio of debates, Obama concisely summed up this pivot point in Campaign 2012: “You’ve now heard three debates, months of campaigning and way too many TV commercials. And now you’ve got a choice.”

The president framed it as a choice between his own record of “real progress” and the “wrong and reckless” ideas of Romney.

Romney countered by sketching “two different paths” offered by the candidates, one of decline under Obama and one of brighter promise from himself.

“I know what it takes to get this country back,” he pledged.

With polls showing the race remains incredibly tight, first lady Michelle Obama made a prediction before the candidates left Florida that neither side would dispute: “This election will be closer than the last one — that’s the only guarantee.”

Obama made it look easy in 2008: He won 365 electoral votes to 173 for Republican John McCain. And he got 53 percent of the popular vote, to 46 percent for McCain.

With 270 electoral votes needed for victory, Obama at this point appears on track to win 237 while Romney appears to have 191. The other 110 are in the hotly contested battleground states.

The candidates’ strategies for getting to 270 are implicit in their itineraries for the next two weeks and in their spending on campaign ads.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann greet supporters at the end of the third and final presidential debate against US President Barack Obama, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Obama and his Democratic allies already have placed $47 million in ad spending across battlegrounds in the campaign’s final weeks, while Romney and the independent groups supporting his candidacy have purchased $53 million, significantly upping their buys in Florida, Ohio and Virginia. And both sides are expected to pad their totals.

After Obama and Vice President Joe Biden campaign together in Ohio on Tuesday, the president splits off on what his campaign is describing as a two-day “around-the-clock” blitz to six more battleground states. He’ll be in constant motion — making voter calls and sleeping aboard Air Force One as he flies overnight Wednesday from Nevada to Tampa, Fla.

The vice president is midway through a three-day tour of uber-battleground Ohio, and Obama’s team contends its best way of ensuring victory is a win there. The campaign says internal polling gives Obama a lead in the Midwestern battleground state, in large part because of the popularity of the president’s bailout of the auto industry.

But even if Obama loses Ohio, his campaign sees another pathway to the presidency by nailing New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado.

President Barack Obama stands with First Lady Michelle following the third and final presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, on October 22, 2012. The showdown focusing on foreign policy is being held in the critical toss-up state of Florida just 15 days before the election and promises to be among the most watched 90 minutes of the entire 2012 campaign. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Romney and running mate Paul Ryan are picking up the pace of their campaigning as well, and their schedule reflects an overarching strategy to drive up GOP vote totals in areas already friendly to the Republican nominee.

The Denver suburbs. Cincinnati. Reno, Nev. They’re places that typically vote Republican, but where McCain fell short of the margins he needed to defeat Obama. To win in all-important Ohio, the GOP nominee must outperform McCain in typically Republican areas.

Romney and Ryan start their two-week dash in Henderson, Nev., then hopscotch to the Denver area for a rally with rocker-rapper Kid Rock and country music’s Rodney Atkins at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Then Romney heads back to Nevada, on to Iowa and then east to Ohio for three overnights in a row. By week’s end, he’s likely to be back in Florida.

The following week brings a significant uptick in Romney’s schedule. Aides say he’ll touch down in two or three states a day, or hold that many daily events in big states like Florida.

Both candidates are done holding fundraisers — no doubt a happy thought for the two of them.

But hold on to your wallets: Supporters will still be out there raising money, and there will be plenty of emails asking for cash right up to the finish.

The president began the month with a little less cash available than Romney, but both have impressive sums to blow through in the home stretch: $150 million for Obama and the Democrats, $183 million for Romney and the Republicans.

BOCA RATON, FL – OCTOBER 22: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after the debate at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The focus for the final presidential debate before Election Day on November 6 is foreign policy. Credit: Getty Images

Immediately after the final debate, Obama pinged his supporters with an email that said simply: “This is in your hands now. Chip in $5 or more, and let’s go win.”

Republicans are dramatically bumping up ad spending in the biggest battlegrounds: In Florida, their spending this week hit $9.2 million after averaging about $5.8 million over the last four weeks. In Ohio, GOP ad spending jumped to $9.6 million this week from an average of $6.9 million over the last four weeks. Virginia saw a bump up to $7.9 million, compared with about $5.2 million over the last four weeks.

Out on the road, Romney has been demonstrating more confidence than ever. He’s started making more impromptu stops at local establishments near campaign rallies, a departure from his typically buttoned-down schedule through the summer. His crowds are bigger and more energized, too. And some voters who’ve attended his recent rallies say his performance helps them to see Romney as a plausible president — not just a candidate.

Obama, for his part, has been projecting a looser, more easygoing demeanor as he campaigns, using humor to undercut Romney.

He riffs about his rival’s “Romnesia” — a lighthearted way to drive home his opponent’s shifting policy positions.

Both sides are working furiously to lock down every possible early vote, and the results are evident in the 4.4 million people who’ve already cast ballots.

Obama will detour to Chicago on Thursday to make a statement about voting early by becoming the first president to cast his own early ballot.

The country is likely to easily exceed the early voting totals from 2008, when 30 percent of all ballots were cast ahead of Election Day, according to Michael McDonald, a George Mason University professor who tracks early voting closely.

In Ohio, McDonald said, numbers are up across the board — in rural, suburban and urban areas. As many as 45 percent of Ohio voters may cast early ballots, compared with less than 30 percent four years ago, he said. The numbers in North Carolina seem to be shifting in the Republicans’ direction, McDonald says, and those in Iowa “seem to confirm polling showing a slight Obama lead” there.

This year’s quartet of debates — three for the presidential candidates and one for the veeps – started on a friendly note, with Romney wishing Obama and wife Michelle a happy 20th anniversary, but goodwill quickly deteriorated. Both men were at times argumentative and the back-and-forth often shed more heat than light.

Romney came on like gangbusters in the first debate and left a listless Obama reeling as GOP momentum surged. Biden poured it on for the Democrats in his faceoff with Ryan, rolling out a full complement of smirks, eye-rolls and headshakes. Obama himself rebounded in the fractious town-hall debate. Both Obama and Romney were better behaved in their final faceoff, with the president playing up his commander-in-chief credentials to full effect and Romney playing it safe to avoid making mistakes.

From it all — more than 65,000 words of debate rhetoric – there was no signature moment that is likely to be remembered much past Election Day.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (34)

Chiron Pyrope
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 12:28am
In the sprint to election day there is little doubt that the attack ads from the left will increase dramatically and there will be numerous “news releases” accusing Mr. Romney of all manner of malfeasance. The strategy is to cause Mr. Romney to waste his time and resources on rebutting what the left conjures up against him. He would be ill-advised to try to respond to all these attacks for it would do no good and, besides, I believe any voters who are still on the fence will see through the ruse.
I would hope Mr. Romney can get some face time on broadcasts that will offer him an opportunity to challenge Mr. Obama to defend his record and to explain in some detail other than “Forward” what his plans are for the next 4 years. This, of course, is something Mr. Obama cannot and will not do!
Meanwhile, those of us who support Mr. Romney’s candidacy should become active in two ways: 1. Campaigning for Mr. Romney and against Mr. Obama, and; 2. Stirring the pot on any and all acts of malfeasance by the Obama regime–all the way from donating money to countries that hate us, to Fast & Furious, to the crony capitalism that was green energy giveaways, to the downgrade of the US credit rating TWICE, to the fact that Obama refused to provide support to Ambassador Stevens (et al) while watching their brutal murder in Benghazi.
We do these things via letters to our editors, call ins to radio talk shows, and letters to our elected representatives. Oh, and don’t forget daily pr

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
bustedupvet
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:20pm
Obongo has missed the mark on everything in 4 years…I’d hate to clean his toilet in 2 weeks!!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
kens
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 2:52pm
The Agenda Pamphlet: Send away now for your free information kit. And if you act now, we’ll throw in a complimentary food stamp along with instructions on how you can go on disability and take maximum advantage of those greedy insurance companies via Obamacare.

Hurry. Quantities are limited.

This is a limited time offer (hopefully)

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
kens
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 2:50pm
There are too many stupid people out there and too many 60′s residue folks who still want to do whatever as long as it feels good. That generation will pass and hopefully younger folks who will remember a good taste of this ‘depression-recession’ will do the right thing to make sure government never flirts with socialism for a long time to come. Especially if they can connect dots – - Romney=opportunity, Obama=Juliaworld.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
kens
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 2:44pm
And let us not forget the Democrats use of the newest visual aid . . . . the 20 page pamphlet hot off the press than purports to outline Obama’s vision of the next four years. An Agenda? Wow. Knock me over with a feather.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Libermerican
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 2:43pm
I would like to see Mitt Romney start naming people he will have in his cabinet/administration.

My wish list:

Secretary of Agriculture:
Secretary of Commerce: Donald Trump
Secretary of Defense: John Bolton
Secretary of Education: (eliminate dept)
Secretary of Energy: Sarah Palin
Secretary of Health and Human Services:
Secretary of Homeland Security: Allen West
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development:
Secretary of Interior:
Secretary of Labor:
Secretary of State:
Secretary of Transportation:
Secretary of Treasury: Ron Paul
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Gary Sinise

Attorney General: Judge Andrew Nepolitano

Chief of Staff:

Who else? What do you think?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- WakingSheep
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 5:47pm
  Napolitano should be a Supreme Court nominee.
  
  Report this comment
crusaderx9
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 1:00pm
Romney was the wiser and more Presidential of the two.

obama’s acerbic rants, stares and glares, and overall unstable character showed to ALL why he has failed as a leader and has failed in bringing America together.

obama is INCAPABLE of healing our nation or protecting America from domestic and international threats that are significant and building.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
frenchdragon
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 11:46am
Don’t forget, we’re giving guns to radical Islamists, just like Fast and Furious! They also WILL come back to bite us! Why don’t we just put 3 carrier battle groups in the eastern Med, just in case? It may come to that, God help us!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
cantwaitfor2012
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 11:30am
I still fear a false flag Reichstag event in the next two weeks that will cause the election to be “postponed indefinitely , especially since Romney is leading in the polls. Be alert and aware!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Gary_K
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:29am
http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/is-obama-beginning-to-crack/

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- bustedupvet
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:24pm
  This is a great post everyone should read…takes a few minutes but well worth it!
  
  Report this comment
barber2
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:29am
The Anarchists in Denver held an anti-police rally over the weekend. I expect more of the same from the Obama Lefties. Maybe stir up their anti-capitalist OWS crowd. God help us if Mr. Karl Marx Obama gets another four years to torpedo our capitalist economy. Putin must be over-joyed .

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:58am
During the next two weeks the rhetoric and vitreolic attacks from Obama unto Romney will increase exponentially.

They will include all possible slander, lies, deceptions, and fabrications; from the admin and the followers of Obama will increase the threats of violent rioting and death threats against Romney should he win.

I expect that Obama will deliver an ultimatum before election day, vote for him or else; and expect there to be sudden economic disruptions from union strikes (blaming Romney) and Occupy and other fanatics following Obama, this mess is only beginning.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
NavyVet911
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:47am
You mention that “Both candidates are done holding fundraisers”… I don’t think its done yet for one of them. Politico is stating “Will Smith hosting Obama fundraiser” on Oct. 25 at their home in Calabasas.

More Celebrity endorsing and buying white house invitations to the tax payer dollars.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
voting-for-romney
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:47am
How do you airbrush the knock out punch regarding Pakistan by Mitt Romney? We did not see any reaction out of President Obama regarding Pakistan other than a bristle at the mention of the Taliban going back to Afghanistan? What about the knock out punch working harder for better results with Pakistan, or the lack of results regarding Syria? Is the lack of progress in Syria due to a shortage of binders and other common office supplies that may appear to be mysterious ancient relics left by the Gods according to some liberals who never work in their offices, if not in reality, but in deed?

If anything, the knock out punch by Mitt Romney is the realization by the American people is that thanks to Bill Clinton and President Obama, we are now witnessing the birth of an Islamic renaissance by bullying neighbors and local governments, not in the name of democracy, but in the creation of an alliance of Muslim states that are becoming well armed, and more demanding then in any time in history, with no support for “democracy” when people wanted support from the United States in Iran?

That realization is very disturbing when there is a pattern in the news regarding preventable tragedies in gun free zones, from criminals thinking they are smarter then law enforcement? If the Arab “spring” into a new era of Islam, will result in new governments that will simply say democracy is against Islam once they secure power, is that fo ward?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Ilikepeople
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:42am
I look at it this way. At last night’s debate Mitt Romney at one point literally operated in the capacity of President of the United States when he defused Bob Schieffer’s question about what they would do if they got a call from Israel saying Israel’s bombers are in the air. Of course implying and setting the precedence that the White House and Israel are not in good communication. He defused that question in the interest of National Security. It seems to me that the candidates like interrupting one another for their own presidential glory, and so maybe Obama could have interrupted for that cause to end that question also.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Ilikepeople
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:54am
  I’d say that Romney won last night if one is preoccupied with who wins these debates. But I don’t look at the Presidential campaign or the debates through the eyes of a high school student sitting there in debate class which of course is the medias desired outcome, and neither do I look for who appears more Presidential because that can be deceiving, but that I look for who literally does the job of President of the United States.
  
  Report this comment
- Ilikepeople
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:07am
  Naturally when I say “Literally” it isn’t the abstract distorted version of literally that one hears during such events as an NFL game.
  
  Report this comment
- Chiron Pyrope
  Posted on October 24, 2012 at 12:37am
  I thought I was the only one who noticed that. I also thought this was Schieffer’s trap for Mr. Romney.
  I guess now I should take an opportunity to admit that Mr. Schieffer was a lot more balanced than the other moderators–I didn’t think he would be but, to his credit, he was.
  
  Report this comment
marvlus
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:30am
My prediction Romney will win with 321 electoral votes, Obama will lose with 217.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
PA PATRIOT
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:27am
Lets be honest.
The next two weeks will find the Obama Administration narrative in the following order
1. Obama will lie and belittle the Romney.
1. Axelrod will lie
1. Gibbs will lie
1. Biden will lie
1. Solidad will lie
1. Brian Wiliams will lie
1. Chris Matthews will lie
1. Maddow will lie
1. Schultz will lie
1. Sharpton will lie
1. Mitchell will lie
1. Stephanopolis will lie
1. Mika will lie
1. Bashire will lie
1. Crowley will lie
1. Hilliary will lie
1. Emmanuel will lie
1. Striesand will lie
1. Stewart and Colbert will lie
1. Maher will lie
1. And the #1…. #1 Jay Carney will tell the truth.
………no I am lying.
Feel free to add to the list.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:44am
  That sums it up perfectly, nothing else needs to be said.
  
  Report this comment
- PA PATRIOT
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:17am
  Oops.
  Forgot one huge lying member of the Obama Administration
  
  STEPHANIE CUTTER
  
  Report this comment
- Elder
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:09pm
  It’s too bad that all the voters who were on Obama’s bandwagon and voted early cannot change their vote even if they now think Romney would make a better President.
  
  Report this comment
Rickfromillinois
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:24am
From Romney we will be hearing more about the economy. From Obama we will be hearing about how rich Romney is, how he is shipping jobs to China, and how he is only for the rich. One will be talking about Obama’s record, and the other will be attacking Romney. I can’t say that I blame Obama. If I had is poor record I would spend all of my time not talking about it and attacking Romney too.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Gonzo
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:28am
  It only works for people that hate self made, successful men. So, he’s preaching to his own choir. Let him rave on about Romney’s wealth, it exposes how out of touch he is with the real America.
  
  Report this comment
- soybomb315_II
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:36am
  based on the economy, i dont see how Romney is not running away with this race. Either the voters dont trust him or they dont pay attention
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:18am
  They don’t pay attention Soy and when they do, they take everything the MSM says as the gospel.
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:19am
“Both candidates are done holding fundraisers” Not for long, Barry will need to start working on his library pretty soon!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- chucksue351
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:38am
  it will be a very small library only the “communist manifesto”
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:08am
  Obama will probaby “write” 5 or 6 more autobiographies before he dies. So, they will need some room for expansion.
  
  Report this comment
- PA PATRIOT
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 9:20am
  Watch for plagerism from Dinesh D’Souza
  
  Report this comment
- bustedupvet
  Posted on October 23, 2012 at 8:27pm
  Each volume will come on a roll for the “one room” library
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.