COLORADO SPRINGS — Mitt Romney dashed across America Saturday using NASCAR legend Richard Petty — and a new attack on President Obama — in an eleventh-hour plea for votes.
Across the day, Romney seized on a remark that Obama made on Friday that voting against the Republican nominee was the “best revenge.”
“Vote for revenge? Let me tell you what I’d like to tell you: Vote for love of country,” Romney told 2,000 supporters in New Hampshire as he stood before a huge sign that read, “Real Change From Day One.”
“It is time we lead America to a better place.”
The crowd roared, “Three more days! Three more days!”
Romney packed the day with four rallies across three time zones — heading from southern New Hampshire to Dubuque, Iowa, and then on to two stops here in Colorado.
While Romney hopscotched across battleground states, his campaign reinforced his new attack with a commercial that tries to make hay of Obama’s “revenge” remark, which the President made during a rally in Springfield, Ohio.
When Obama mentioned Romney’s name, and the crowd booed, Obama said, “No, no, no — don’t boo, vote. Vote. Voting is the best revenge.”
Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday there was nothing sinister or unpatriotic in Obama’s unscripted remark. “The message he was sending is, if you don’t like (Romney’s) policies, if you don’t like the plan that Gov. Romney is putting forward ... then you can go to the voting booth and cast your ballot. It’s nothing more complicated than that.”
In Iowa, Petty — a member of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame — told Romney supporters that his home state of North Carolina “messed up four years ago” by voting for Obama, but “we’ve had four years to think about the mistakes we made.”
Romney and his wife, Ann, took the stage to the thumping beat of Kid Rock’s “Born Free” before Romney began a blistering critique of the President. He said Obama promised to be the “postpartisan” leader and ended up “the most partisan.” Unlike Obama, Romney said, “I’m making promises I have kept and I will keep for the American people!”
When he attacked Obama for his “revenge” remark, the crowd erupted in chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
Some voters — like Dave and Jean Burggren of Dubuque — said they needed no convincing to take up Romney’s cause in Iowa, where polls show Obama slightly ahead. “You’ve got a lot of people who are scared of what’s going on,” said Dave Burggren, 63, who’s retired from sales and has spent four months volunteering for the campaign.
“If we get business going, everything else will fall into place.”
As a sign of just how close he thinks the election is, Romney urged supporters in New Hampshire to go door-to-door on his behalf. “I need you to spend some time in the next three days to see neighbors — maybe ones with an Obama sign in front of their home — and just go by and say, ‘Look, let’s talk this through a little bit,’” he said.
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Across the day, Romney seized on a remark that Obama made on Friday that voting against the Republican nominee was the “best revenge.”
“Vote for revenge? Let me tell you what I’d like to tell you: Vote for love of country,” Romney told 2,000 supporters in New Hampshire as he stood before a huge sign that read, “Real Change From Day One.”
“It is time we lead America to a better place.”
The crowd roared, “Three more days! Three more days!”
Romney packed the day with four rallies across three time zones — heading from southern New Hampshire to Dubuque, Iowa, and then on to two stops here in Colorado.
While Romney hopscotched across battleground states, his campaign reinforced his new attack with a commercial that tries to make hay of Obama’s “revenge” remark, which the President made during a rally in Springfield, Ohio.
When Obama mentioned Romney’s name, and the crowd booed, Obama said, “No, no, no — don’t boo, vote. Vote. Voting is the best revenge.”
Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday there was nothing sinister or unpatriotic in Obama’s unscripted remark. “The message he was sending is, if you don’t like (Romney’s) policies, if you don’t like the plan that Gov. Romney is putting forward ... then you can go to the voting booth and cast your ballot. It’s nothing more complicated than that.”
In Iowa, Petty — a member of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame — told Romney supporters that his home state of North Carolina “messed up four years ago” by voting for Obama, but “we’ve had four years to think about the mistakes we made.”
Romney and his wife, Ann, took the stage to the thumping beat of Kid Rock’s “Born Free” before Romney began a blistering critique of the President. He said Obama promised to be the “postpartisan” leader and ended up “the most partisan.” Unlike Obama, Romney said, “I’m making promises I have kept and I will keep for the American people!”
When he attacked Obama for his “revenge” remark, the crowd erupted in chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
Some voters — like Dave and Jean Burggren of Dubuque — said they needed no convincing to take up Romney’s cause in Iowa, where polls show Obama slightly ahead. “You’ve got a lot of people who are scared of what’s going on,” said Dave Burggren, 63, who’s retired from sales and has spent four months volunteering for the campaign.
“If we get business going, everything else will fall into place.”
As a sign of just how close he thinks the election is, Romney urged supporters in New Hampshire to go door-to-door on his behalf. “I need you to spend some time in the next three days to see neighbors — maybe ones with an Obama sign in front of their home — and just go by and say, ‘Look, let’s talk this through a little bit,’” he said.
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