President Obama was in Iowa Thursday on the final day of two-day campaign swing through battleground states. He spoke at a evening campaign rally at Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center in Des Moines.
The President spoke about the importance of winning Iowa in this year’s election and criticized Mitt Romney on his proposal to reduce national debt he announced in Des Moines last week. "I’m running to pay down our debt in a way that’s balanced and responsible," he told supporters. "Now, I know Governor Romney came to Des Moines last week; warned about a 'prairie fire of debt.' That’s what he said. But he left out some facts. His speech was more like a cow pie of distortion. I don’t know whose record he twisted the most -- mine or his."
This was the President’s first campaign event in Iowa since officially announcing his re-election earlier this month.
Earlier on Thursday, he held a fundraiser in San Jose, California before heading out to Iowa where he visited a wind manufacturer in Newton and talked about his “To Do List” for Congress. This will be Obama’s third visit to Iowa this year.
Wednesday, the President was in Colorado where he spoke at a fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency in Denver. Tickets started at $250 a person. The President later flew to California to attend two other fundraisers. His first fundraiser was at the Atherton home of Lisa and Doug Goldman that also included a performance by David Crosby and Graham Nash.
A couple hours later, the President attended a rally at the Redwood City’s Fox Theater. Tickets cost from $250 for general admission to $7,500 for a reception and photo.
As the President campaigned in the battleground states of Iowa and Colorado, Crossroads GPS, a group founded by Karl Rove, aired a new ad in 10 swing states. The ad called “Basketball” highlights the Obama Administration’s results on fixing the economy. The ad will run in Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The Obama campaign discussed the President's campaign strategy in those states Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.. They announced the national Launch of the Obama Pride: LGBT Americans for Obama a neighborhood grassroots campaign.