Both presidential teams are tweaking their strategies and speeches as they brace for more debates and the final dash to the Nov. 6 finish line.
The first one altered the dynamics for both tickets heading into Thursday's vice presidential showdown and next Tuesday's second of three presidential debates.
Republican Mitt Romney, energized by his strong showing and gains in some national and swing-state polls, is more aggressively reaching out to independents and wavering supporters of President Barack Obama in swing states.
"If you vote for me and if you get some other people to do the same thing, Ohio's going to elect me the next president of the United States," he told supporters in Mount Vernon, Ohio, as he campaigned across the super-competitive battleground.
He's also speaking in more personal terms.
Obama, trying to rebound from his weak debate showing, has been sounding a more aggressive and snappier tone on the stump in outlining his accomplishments.
He campaigns in battleground Florida on Thursday.
Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan briefly put aside campaigning to prepare for Thursday night's lone vice presidential debate at Centre College, in Danville, Ky.
Pressure is high on both — on Biden to help remedy some of Obama's first-debate lapses and on Ryan to solidify the ticket's recent gains.
Meanwhile, Ann Romney, filled in as guest host for part of ABC's "Good Morning America." Her segment featured talk about cooking and horses — no politics.
As it opened, she was cooking an old family recipe, Welsh cakes.
"Oh, they're burning," she said, removing them from the griddle. "I've got a cooking emergency."
Romney said he watched her — and the hyper-partisan political commercials that ran during the breaks.
"It's a good thing I don't do that very often. My blood pressure would be very high," he said.
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