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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are making the hard sell to working-class and women voters while raising the volume of their criticism to cast the other guy as an extremist.

Romney's team thrust welfare into the campaign with an ad claiming that Obama planned to dole out taxpayer dollars to anyone, even those not trying to find work. For his part, Obama was to appear Wednesday with Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student who became a flashpoint for women's health and, by proxy, abortion rights. Obama's message: Romney would take away women's health insurance benefits won by Democrats.

Romney is set for a Wednesday morning rally in Des Moines before flying back to New Jersey to raise more money for his already sizable campaign accounts. Obama is heading westward to Colorado to make the case to voters, especially women, that he should be re-elected in November.

Romney charged that Obama was undoing welfare reforms President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1996 by offering waivers to states. His campaign sees Obama's decision as an opportunity to argue that the president is a liberal who wants to give the poor a free pass at the expense of the middle class.

White House spokesman Jay Carney blasted Romney's assertions as "categorically false and blatantly dishonest." The White House said Obama wanted to give states the flexibility they had been seeking to tailor the program to their needs.

Some conservatives fear the increased latitude could allow states to get around the work requirements, which were a key element of the welfare overhaul under Clinton. But the former president himself weighed in, saying in a statement that the assertion in Romney's ad was "not true" and the ad misleading.

The welfare issue as pushed by the Romney campaign appeared to be aimed at blue-collar whites in a weak economy and suggested that Obama might be gaining ground politically with his position on taxes.

The setting for the comments mattered, too. Romney was campaigning in Iowa, where six electoral votes are up for grabs. Strategists from both parties envision a close election in the state that, in some ways, launched both Romney and Obama.

Four years ago, Obama won Iowa's leadoff Democratic caucuses en route to his party's presidential nomination. He went on to carry Iowa in the general election against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Yet when Obama won the state four years ago, Democrats had a 105,000-voter registration advantage. Republicans now hold a 21,589 voter advantage and are more bullish about their chances.

Romney, too, won his party's Iowa caucuses — at least for a while. Election officials later reversed the call and gave Sen. Rick Santorum the upset. By then, Romney had momentum after another strong showing in New Hampshire.

Obama plans to spend three days in Iowa next week, a signal that his advisers see the Midwestern state as fertile soil for his political message, especially his support for wind energy. Wind turbines dot the Iowa horizon and employ thousands of voters. Romney often mocks Obama's support for so-called green energy projects, a position that puts him at odds with Republican leaders in the state.

Obama is launching a two-day, four-city swing through Colorado on Wednesday. His events are expected to focus on the economy, including his call for Congress to extend tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year while letting the cuts for higher-income earners expire.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Obama and Romney tied among voters in Colorado households earning between $30,000 and $50,000 per year — an important target. Obama leads among voters with lower incomes; Romney is favored by those making more.

Obama planned to emphasize women's health issues at his first event in Denver. The crowd at the Auraria Event Center was expected to be predominantly women. The president was to be introduced by Fluke, the Georgetown University student who gained notoriety after conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh called her a slut because she supports the Obama health care law's requirement that insurance companies cover contraception.

The president has been running television advertisements in Colorado highlighting his health care overhaul's benefits for women and warning that those benefits could be taken away if Romney wins. On Wednesday the campaign released a video in which actress Elizabeth Banks describes her personal experience with Planned Parenthood and criticizes Romney for promising to eliminate its federal funding.

Both Obama and Romney see women — particularly suburban women from their 30s to their 50s — as crucial to their victory in Colorado, where polls show the candidates in a tight contest for the state's nine electoral votes.

Obama has had the edge over female voters nationally and is focusing on a particularly promising subset: college-educated women. Fifty-five percent of college-educated women preferred Obama in a June Associated Press-GfK poll, while 40 percent preferred Romney.

Obama has been a frequent visitor to Colorado this summer, but not for purely political purposes. He made a quick trip to Colorado Springs in late June to view wildfire damage and meet with first responders battling the most devastating fires in the state's history. Two weeks later, he returned to meet with the grief-stricken families and survivors of the movie theater shooting in Aurora.

Both trips gave Obama an opportunity to assume the role of consoler in chief and show swing-state voters leadership in a crisis.

This week, Obama's focus will be solely on rounding up votes in the tightly contested Western battleground.

Both Colorado and Iowa, with huge swaths of independent-minded voters, hold significant political weight in November. In a tight election, their electoral votes could make the difference between a win or a loss. Obama won both in 2008.

Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Chicago and Kasie Hunt in Washington contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI (AP) — President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies aren't waiting for Republican Mitt Romney to reveal his vice presidential choice. They're already trying to scuff up those considered by political insiders to be most likely to join the GOP ticket.

The president's campaign started swinging at the potential Republican running mates this week while urging home-state Democrats to chime in about the shortcomings that — as emails to donors and supporters put it — "Americans need to know." The pre-emptive strikes are an effort to define a possible No. 2 in a negative light and reflect a sense that time is precious to sway opinion in a stubbornly close presidential race dashing quickly toward November.

Tim Pawlenty? The former Minnesota governor is a fee-raiser whose record "is painful for the middle-class families who lived under his leadership," the Obama campaign argues.

Rob Portman? The Ohio senator is "one of the architects of the top-down Bush budget" that the Obama team blames for "crashing our economy."

Marco Rubio? The rookie Florida senator has "led the way on almost every extreme position Mitt Romney has embraced," according to the missive that seeks examples of "the good, the bad and ugly" of Rubio.

Chris Christie? There's "no lack of material to work with" about the pugnacious New Jersey governor.

Those views are far from how Republicans regard the foursome. As many in the GOP see it, Pawlenty is extolled for his blue-collar appeal and budget restraints during eight years as governor; Portman is praised for a vast portfolio of experience and as someone who could help deliver a critical swing state; Rubio is a rising star who could help the GOP attract Hispanic voters; and Christie is willing to take on entrenched interests and big problems no matter whom he offends.

Romney's campaign criticized Obama for seeking the critiques. They are little more than "negative smear campaigns against the possible GOP vice presidential nominees," Ohio-based spokesman Chris Maloney said.

It's not just the Obama operation that's trying to tar the Republicans. Local Democratic officials in contested states aren't letting visits by the would-be vice presidents go unchecked. In conference calls, they try to draw attention to what they say are the Republicans' flaws, then quickly deliver biting assessments when one of them campaigns in a battleground state. Independent groups sympathetic to Obama are piling on as well.

American Bridge 21st Century, a Washington-based super PAC, has already dumped a combined 1,651 unflattering pages of so-called opposition research on Pawlenty, Portman and Rubio as well as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. The five electronic briefing books, including two released Wednesday, rake over the Republicans' voting records, proposals, public statements and slipups. The rundowns are so detailed that a politician's taste for expensive wine is even noted in one of the books.

American Bridge President Rodell Mollineau said the group started months ago compiling the information — much of it's drawn from media reports, public records and speeches — and decided against waiting until the vice presidential pick becomes known to trickle out the juiciest bits.

"You don't want to start too soon, but you don't want to be in a situation where there's 80 days until the election and everything is being jammed in so much that things are being lost," Mollineau said.

The findings are likely to buttress criticism from top Democrats, feed into TV ads and show up as part of fall campaign mailings. The group also has video trackers in key areas eager to capture possible miscues or shifting positions.

The Obama campaign dispatches haven't gone unnoticed on the right.

Natalie Baur, a confidante of Portman, went so far as to issue a rebuttal to fellow supporters defending Portman as a problem-solver. The message called the Obama push for feedback on him a "desperate" move and a sign that "the president's friends are more interested in playing political games than working together to create jobs, fix the economy and pass a budget."

Romney has said little about whom he favors or when the choice will come, although it's expected well before the Aug. 27 start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

So far, Vice President Joe Biden has had the No. 2 space all to himself, which has given the Obama campaign a second high-level voice to tour the country, raise money and hammer their opposition. Obama's aides deny he has a preference, but admit they're watching closely for Romney's decision.

"Any way you cut it, whomever they pick, we'd much rather have Vice President Biden on our side, campaigning across the country, in the debates, out there standing up for the president, than any of the motley crew that Mitt Romney is choosing between," Obama campaign spokesman Jen Psaki said Wednesday.

Ann Romney, the candidate's wife who just returned from watching her horse compete at the Olympic Games in London, added to the suspense Thursday with an email telling backers "I can't wait" to help introduce "the other half of America's Comeback Team."

Bakst reported from St. Paul, Minn. Associated Press writers Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Fla., and Mark S. Smith in Washington contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney is charging that President Barack Obama has gone beyond the bounds of acceptable campaign speech with a TV ad linking him to a woman's death from cancer.

Without directly citing an ad run by the pro-Obama group Priorities USA Action, Romney says, quote, "I don't know what happened to a campaign of hope and change. I thought he was a new kind of politician."

Romney says on Bill Bennett's "Morning in America" radio show Thursday that Obama has been airing factually incorrect charges. Yet, he says the ads "just keep on running" and officials "just blast ahead."

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul labeled the ad linking Romney to a woman's death "despicable." But Priorities USA Action refused to pull the TV spot off the air.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — President Barack Obama blamed Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan for blocking a farm bill that could help voters in Iowa and elsewhere cope with a crippling drought, as both candidates campaigned in the important Midwestern battleground.

"If you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities," Obama said in excerpts released ahead of a speech Monday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Ryan, campaigning alone for the first time since getting the vice presidential nod, planned to meet voters Monday at the Iowa State Fair. Romney was in Florida for a bus tour.

Romney's campaign, seeking to ratchet up support in Iowa, played up Ryan's upbringing in Wisconsin, which has a significant agricultural industry. Spokesman Ryan Williams said "no one will work harder to defend farmers and ranchers than the Romney-Ryan ticket."

Obama carried Iowa in 2008, but polls show a close race in the battleground state less than three months from Election Day.

Ryan's events in Iowa could help determine whether conservative excitement for the Wisconsin congressman — and his austere budget plans — will overshadow Romney's message and Republican attacks on Obama's economic performance.

Romney briefly defended his new running mate's budget proposals for Medicare, telling Florida voters that the Republican ticket wants to "make sure that we preserve and protect Medicare."

"He's come up with ideas that are very different than the president's," Romney said of Ryan. "The president's idea, for example, for Medicare, was to cut it by $700 billion. That's not the right answer."

At the same time, a pro-Romney super PAC is spending more than $10 million on a new television advertisement attacking Obama's handling of the economy as the nation's unemployment rate lingers above 8 percent.

"Another month. Even more Americans jobless," says the narrator in the ad from the group, Restore Our Future, which is led by people with close ties to Romney.

The spot will air for more than a week across 11 presidential battleground states, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Democrats are banking on Ryan and his controversial budget proposals overshadowing Romney's message and Republican attacks on Obama's economic performance.

Since Romney formally named Ryan his running mate on Saturday, the Obama campaign has been attacking the Republican budget architect's plans to transform Medicare into a voucher system and re-shape the nation's tax system.

A top Obama political adviser, David Axelrod, said Monday that Romney's selection of Ryan is reminiscent of John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin four years ago. He told "CBS This Morning" he remembers the initial excitement surrounding Palin's selection, but says he doesn't believe the choice of Ryan "is going to be a plus for Mr. Romney."

Axelrod called Ryan "a genial fellow" who advocates harsh policy positions, particularly on Medicare.

Ryan figures to play prominently in Obama's message during his three-day bus tour across Iowa, which marks his longest visit to a single state during the 2012 campaign.

Obama's bus tour will begin in Council Bluffs, just across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb., and head across the state before wrapping up in Davenport along the Mississippi River.

Obama will showcase the powers of incumbency as he tours a farm in Missouri Valley, Iowa, and discuss ways of addressing the devastating drought. White House officials said the president planned to direct his Agriculture Department to buy up to $170 million worth of meat and poultry to provide relief to farmers and ranchers.

The Defense Department, a large purchaser of beef, pork and lamb, was expected to look for ways to encourage its vendors to speed up purchases of meat.

Obama has urged Congress to pass a farm bill to provide a long-term solution for farmers. Democrats and Republicans are at odds over the program's farm subsidies and food stamps, with Ryan among the GOP lawmakers backing cuts in food stamp programs that are opposed by the president's party.

Ryan, a 42-year-old congressman, is best-known for his proposing to reshape Medicare, the long-standing entitlement, by setting up a voucher-like system to let future retirees shop for private health coverage or choose the traditional program — a plan that independent budget analysts say would probably mean higher out-of-pocket costs for seniors.

Looking to define the Republican ticket's views on Medicare, the Obama campaign released an online video Monday featuring seniors in Florida talking about how Ryan's proposed changes to the popular health care program could affect them.

"It doesn't make any sense to cut Medicare," says one woman. The video aims to portray the Romney-Ryan ticket as a threat to Medicare and Obama as its protector.

The commercial comes as Romney gently tries to distance himself from his running mate's budget plan, making clear that his ideas rule, not Ryan's.

"I have my budget plan," Romney said, "And that's the budget plan we're going to run on."

He walked a careful line as he campaigned with Ryan, a tea party favorite, by his side in North Carolina and Wisconsin, singling out his running mate's work "to make sure we can save Medicare." But the presidential candidate never said whether he embraced Ryan's austere plan himself.

The pair faced an estimated 10,000 supporters in Wisconsin as Ryan returned Sunday to his home state for the first time in his new role.

"Hi mom," Ryan said, voice crackling as he took the stage and looked out over a sprawling crowd.

An enthusiastic Romney seemed to feed off the energy.

"If you follow the campaign of Barack Obama, he's going to do everything in his power to make this the lowest, meanest, negative campaign in history. We're not going to let that happen. This is going to be a campaign about ideas, about the future of America," Romney said. "Mr. President, take your campaign out of the gutter. Let's talk about the real issues that America faces."

The Romney campaign, meanwhile, released a new ad accusing the Obama administration of "gutting welfare reform."

The new television advertisement released Monday accused the Obama White House of stripping the work requirement from the nation's welfare law. It's the same charge the Republican candidate levied in a separate ad last week.

Independent fact checkers have found the premise of the ad to be false.

Online: Obama video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4OACn0Kkbk

Ryan and Obama in Iowa seeking votes; Romney's on the bus in Florida

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Newly tapped Republican vice presidential contender Paul Ryan is facing off against President Barack Obama as the front lines in the battle for the White House shift to Iowa.

While Mitt Romney continues a Florida bus tour, Ryan will meet voters at the Iowa State Fair, campaigning alone for the first time in the same state where Obama launches a bus tour of his own. Monday's events may help determine whether conservative excitement for the Wisconsin congressman — and his controversial budget plans — will overshadow Romney's own economic message.

Democrats are banking on it.

Since Romney formally named Ryan his running mate on Saturday, the Obama campaign has been attacking the Republican budget architect's plans to transform Medicare into a voucher system and re-shape the nation's tax system. That effort will continue as Obama kicks off a three-day bus tour across Iowa, making his longest visit to a single state yet as he seeks to fire up supporters who put him on the path to the presidency in 2008.

Ryan figures to play prominently in Obama's message.

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As Romney names running mate, voters wonder if VP pick matters; lessons from Palin in '08?

GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — When a little-known Alaska governor stepped onto the American political stage as John McCain's running mate four years ago, the choice was intended to be a game-changer.

While Sarah Palin gave a boost to the Republican Arizona senator's presidential campaign initially, her campaign overall had mixed results.

Now voters and election watchers are trying to determine if Republican Mitt Romney's choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate will be a game-changer in this year's elections.

Those who have studied elections and vice presidential choices say the VP choice doesn't do much, if anything, to affect the outcome most years.

But they say it can make a difference in a very close race.

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GOP's Paul Ryan has bold plans for Medicare and Medicaid costs, but they've proved divisive

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Paul Ryan's blueprint for Medicare could prove as polarizing in the campaign as President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has been. Even Mitt Romney may not want to go there.

Romney's new running mate has built a strong reputation on Capitol Hill for bold ideas to restrain health care costs and federal spending overall. His centerpiece idea is to steer future retirees into private insurance plans, with a fixed payment from the government that may or may not cover as much of a retiree's costs as does the current program.

Ryan, a conservative Wisconsin congressman and chairman of the House Budget Committee, calls his idea "premium support." Democrats call it a voucher plan. In theory, Ryan's plan could work, economists say. But the devil's in the details. Lots of them, and yet to be ironed out.

Ryan would also turn Medicaid over to the states, and sharply limit the growth of future spending on that safety net program. Between them, Medicare and Medicaid cover about 100 million people, touching nearly every American family in some way.

While expressing support broadly, Romney has yet to spell out where he stands on specifics of his running mate's proposals. And that could get tricky.

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Strict school junk food laws may help curb kids' obesity, but study results aren't a slam-dunk

CHICAGO (AP) — Laws strictly curbing school sales of junk food and sweetened drinks may play a role in slowing childhood obesity, according to a study that seems to offer the first evidence such efforts could pay off.

The results come from the first large national look at the effectiveness of the state laws over time. They are not a slam-dunk, and even obesity experts who praised the study acknowledge the measures are a political hot potato, smacking of a "nanny state" and opposed by industry and cash-strapped schools relying on food processors' money.

But if the laws have even a tiny effect, "what are the downsides of improving the food environment for children today?" asked Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital. "You can't get much worse than it already is."

Children in the study gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools. For example, kids who were 5 feet tall and 100 pounds gained on average 2.2 fewer pounds if they lived in states with strong laws in the three years studied.

Also, children who were overweight or obese in fifth grade were more likely to reach a healthy weight by eighth grade if they lived in states with the strongest laws.

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EYES ON LONDON: London Olympics close with pomp and pop, eyes turn to Rio

LONDON (AP) — Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you

RIO PREPARES

As the London Olympics closed, the next host, Rio de Janeiro, was set to kick off four years of preparations for games that some see as Brazil's entrance onto the world stage.

Many are bracing for a rocky ride as Rio — a laid-back beach city not known for its efficiency or punctuality — rushes to build four main Olympic sites and undertake a massive infrastructure overhaul.

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Golden Games: US wins the most medals, and the most gold, at London Olympics

LONDON (AP) — Red, white and blue was everywhere in London.

For the Americans — and for the British, too.

The most medals, and the most gold medals. That's what the U.S. Olympic Team wanted, and it's what they delivered. As for the home team? Riding the wave of home-field advantage, the British put together their best Olympic showing in over a century.

The competition is over. The U.S. was best, but the success stories from London truly spanned the globe.

"I think these games were absolutely fabulous," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said.

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With pop, performance and pride, London extinguishes Olympic flame and passes the torch to Rio

LONDON (AP) — And now, on to Rio!

London brought the curtain down on a hugely entertaining Olympics with a sensational rock 'n roll nostalgia tour of a closing ceremony that thrilled the London night with top-of-the-chart classics, supermodels and psychedelic mayhem.

After a glorious two weeks of never-to-be-forgotten moments that left Britain exhausted, exhilarated and deeply proud, organizers handed the baton to 2016 host Brazil, which must now take up the Herculean task of matching them.

Judging by the swaying samba of Marisa Monte and the sexy baritone of Seu Jorge in Brazil's eight-minute musical and visual postcard for the 2016 games, they look to be off to a foot-stomping start.

But Sunday was all about Britain.

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Mud, sweat and tears: Grueling obstacles courses draw millions, from chiseled to chubby

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — More than 10,000 people trekked to northeastern Pennsylvania to scale walls, leap fire and crawl commando-style through a mud pit topped with barbed wire.

Willingly. For kicks. And they paid money to do it.

That's obstacle course racing for you: grueling, mud-spattered and, to its legions of fans, addictive fun.

In only a few years, obstacle courses have become a favorite diversion of thrill-seekers and weekend warriors, with hundreds of events around the country that require participants to go up, over, under and through to the finish line.

Three of the top series — Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash and Spartan Race — expect to host nearly 2 million runners in 2012, from fitness buffs bored with straight-line running to pasty 9-to-5ers blowing off steam with friends, from adrenaline junkies pushing the limits of their own physical and mental endurance to couch potatoes for whom working the remote more typically qualifies as exercise.

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Bo Xilai's case much more tricky for China's communist leaders than his wife's murder trial

BEIJING (AP) — Trying disgraced politician Bo Xilai's wife for murder was the easy part in cleaning up the political mess the couple has created for China's communist party leaders. Now comes the tough part: punishing Bo for abuse of power without further tarnishing the party's reputation.

Disciplining him quietly will save the party the embarrassment of washing its dirty linen in public but reinforce public perception that it goes soft on one of its own. Analysts say the leadership is therefore more likely to bite the bullet and try Bo in public in a nod to rule of law.

The first indication of this came when four Chongqing police officers were tried Friday for allegedly trying to help Bo's wife Gu Kailai cover up the murder of a British business associate, Neil Heywood, said Cheng Li, a China politics expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C..

Chinese politics has a history of attacking subordinates to get at their superiors, and as part of the chain of command, the four can be directly linked to Bo, once the supreme communist party boss of Chongqing, a mega-city in China's east.

Li said the trial of the officers was a firm indication Bo would definitely face a judge, possibly in relation to the killing. "That's a statement that Bo Xilai will be charged," Li said.

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Rep: Jennifer Aniston is engaged to Justin Theroux

NEW YORK (AP) — After years of breathless anticipation — at least on the part of the tabloids — Jennifer Aniston is finally ready to wed again.

Her representative, Stephen Huvane, confirmed Sunday night that the actress is engaged to her boyfriend of more than a year, Justin Theroux.

"Justin Theroux had an amazing birthday on Friday, receiving an extraordinary gift when his girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, accepted his proposal of marriage," said Theroux's rep in a statement to People, which first reported the engagement.

Theroux, 41, and Aniston, 43, have known each other for years, but started dating more than a year ago after working on the comedy "Wanderlust." Though that film disappeared quickly from movie theaters after its release earlier this year, the relationship clearly proved to have more staying power. The two moved in together and tabloids soon began predicting everything from marriage to babies for the new couple.

Aniston had been a part of such speculation for years, ever since the demise of her marriage to Brad Pitt after a five-year union in 2005. While Pitt moved on to a long-term relationship with Angelina Jolie, Aniston had high-profile relationships with the likes of John Mayer and Vince Vaughn that didn't last, leading to the common narrative: When will Jen find someone or have a child?

NORTH CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is staying on the offensive in the increasingly heated debate over the future of Medicare, the health care program relied upon by millions of seniors.

"The president was talking about Medicare yesterday. I'm excited about this," Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, said Thursday. "This is a debate we want to have, this is a debate we need to have and this is a debate we're going to win."

The Wisconsin congressman's addition to the GOP ticket this past weekend drew immediate scrutiny to a budget proposal he drafted that proposes to transform Medicare into a voucher-like system for future retirees.

In turn, Romney and Ryan called attention to President Barack Obama's health care law, which is funded in part by future savings from Medicare, and accused him of "raiding" the program of billions of dollars.

"What he probably did not mention yesterday is that when he passed his signature health care achievement, Obamacare, he raided $716 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare," Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said. "This will lead to fewer services for seniors."

What Ryan doesn't mention is that his budget proposal includes the same savings, which are supposed to be realized through lower payments to hospitals and doctors, and by making the program more efficient.

Romney has said he would restore the Medicare cuts.

Obama says the Republicans' proposal "ends Medicare as we know it," arguing that changes he's made, including to help seniors pay less for drugs and reduce wasteful spending, will make the program stronger financially.

"I've strengthened Medicare," Obama declared Wednesday a two separate campaign appearances in Iowa.

The Medicare debate continues as Romney's campaign presses ahead with efforts to undermine Obama's personal likability, one of his greatest assets, by trying to portray the outwardly calm president as someone seething with animosity and a lust for power.

Ryan carried the theme in his only public appearance Thursday, his second consecutive day of campaigning in the politically important state of Ohio. He said Obama was running a campaign marked by "frustration" and "anger" because he's out of new ideas and has resorted to "fear and smear" to try to win a second term.

Romney had charged a day earlier that "division and attack and hatred" were fueling Obama's campaign.

To help make their case, Romney's campaign has been highlighting a recent remark by Vice President Joe Biden that prompted some critics to suggest he was using racial undertones to gain political advantage.

Responding to Republican criticism that the Obama administration had sought to regulate Wall Street too tightly, Biden told a Virginia campaign audience that included hundreds of black supporters that the GOP wanted to "unchain Wall Street." He added: "They're going to put y'all back in chains."

Obama defended Biden, telling People magazine Wednesday that the vice president's only meaning was that consumers won't be protected if Wall Street reforms are repealed.

"In no sense was he trying to connote something other than that," Obama said.

The president wrapped up a three-day bus tour through Iowa on Wednesday, devoting attention to the state that helped launch his bid for the White House in 2008. He was joined by first lady Michelle Obama for the first time in months.

Obama and Biden were spending Thursday at the White House. Romney was raising money in South Carolina.

Obama resumes campaigning Saturday with a pair of stops in New Hampshire.

DENVER (AP) — Paul Ryan likes exercise, budget charts and the Green Bay Packers. Joe Biden likes train rides, foreign policy and talking — a lot.

In some ways, these presidential ticket No. 2s could not be more different. They are separated in age by nearly three decades, were born to families in different regions of the country and have views on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

But in other ways, the 42-year-old Republican congressman and 69-year-old Democratic vice president are very much alike. Both were born to Catholic families in working-class neighborhoods and were young stars in their parties who became experts on the inner workings of Washington.

And perhaps above all, these men both do political things their respective No. 1s cannot.

Biden, with his back-slapping image, big smile and hardscrabble roots in Scranton, Pa., is seen as more effective than President Barack Obama at courting white working-class voters. Ryan, while less known outside his Janesville, Wis., hometown, is a favorite of the Republican Party's conservative base, a group that long has been skeptical of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney's conservative credentials.

Over the next three months, Biden and Ryan will play key roles in the White House race, raising money, criticizing the opponent and helping lend credibility in complicated policy debates — Biden on foreign policy and Ryan on federal budgeting. They will also inevitably create headaches for their bosses, as Biden did this week when he told a Virginia crowd that included hundreds of black people that Romney's plans for Wall Street would put them "back in chains."

Mostly, their job: Sell the boss to Americans — and tear down the other guy.

Routinely, Biden says Obama has "a backbone like a ramrod" and says he considers himself Obama's older brother. He also unleashes scathing attacks against Romney and, now, Ryan, including his proposals to overhaul Medicare.

Ryan, just days into his new role, has said repeatedly of Romney that he's "the kind of man who you want to serve as your president. He's the kind of man who, when he gets involved, he fixes things." And he lambasts Obama, saying he's "spending our children into a diminished future."

When talking to voters, both often offer personal touches.

While visiting a firehouse in Hillsborough, N.C., to thank firemen for the work they do, Biden shared the story of his first wife's and daughter's deaths in a car accident. Then, at high school football practice in Danville, Va., he offered some of his father's favorite words: "When you get knocked down, get up!"

With a football in his hand, the silver-haired Biden told players that when he played high school football he weighed about 158 pounds but with pads he clocked in at 175. Asked if he was ready to suit up and play, the vice president declared, "I'm ready to go!"

It was a moment of connection for a man who has maintained his everyman appeal, despite having worked nearly 40 years in Washington. Elected to the Senate at 30, he commuted by train more than two hours most days to and from Delaware to see his family. An Amtrak station in Wilmington, Del., was named in his honor last year.

Biden's kids have long since grown up. Two of them are about the same age as Ryan. But he often refers to his grandchildren on the campaign trail, including one story that he uses to accuse Republicans of creating the country's economic mess: "As my youngest granddaughter, Natalie, says, 'Who do they think did that, Casper the ghost?'"

Ryan became a congressman at just 28 and is nearing the end of his seventh term. He's been sharing stories about camping, his exercise routine and demolition derby as he has crisscrossed six states — Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio — on Romney's behalf this week.

He chatted about cow milking during a brief tour of the Iowa State Fair on Monday. The next day, his young children — and love for the outdoors — figured prominently in a speech in Colorado, where he took his family camping last summer.

Ryan said he showed his kids — Liza, 10, and sons Charles, 8, and Sam, 7 — how to cook a meal on a campfire and make s'mores. Later, he and his wife, Janna, put the kids to bed in a tent.

"We stayed up late and we talked about our country," Ryan said. "There's nothing like the stars and the skies of the Colorado Rockies at night. We looked at our kids and we know they are our future. But today, we look at our kids and we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we are mortgaging their future."

When he makes comments like these, Ryan exudes a certain cheery authenticity. He is a former personal trainer, a skier and hiker known for his devotion to the workout routine known as P90X. The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan is someone who draws budget graphs on napkins. He defends complicated Medicare plans with a boyish charm that prompted New York Times liberal columnist Maureen Dowd to call him "the cutest package that cruelty ever came in."

"Ryan strikes me as a policy wonk who's not a nerd," said Steve Duprey, a member of the Republican National Committee from New Hampshire.

Where Ryan's forte is the budget, Biden is an expert on foreign policy, having served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. Neither Romney nor Ryan has significant foreign policy experience.

Biden has significant credibility in the foreign policy realm, despite a tendency to stray off message.

His use of profanity was betrayed when television cameras captured him mouthing a colorful congratulations to Obama after the passage of his health care law. And just this week, he told a Virginia crowd that Obama needed their help to win North Carolina and referred to the country being in the 20th century — when it's the 21st century.

Biden made a more significant misstep while criticizing Romney's plans to eliminate new Wall Street regulations. "Unchain Wall Street," Biden told a crowd that included hundreds of blacks. "They're going to put y'all back in chains." Romney seized on the comments as proof Obama's campaign is driven by "division and attack and hatred."

Former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va., who introduced Biden at a rally this week, said the vice presidential campaign was a study in contrasts. Biden may be a generation older than Ryan, he said, but the vice president "hasn't missed a step."

"He may not work out as aggressively as Paul Ryan, but both of them are plenty fit," Perriello said.

Introducing Ryan this week, former Colorado Rep. Bob Beauprez said that there's one important thing to remember about Ryan: "He ain't Joe Biden."

Daly reported from Blacksburg, Va.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Rep. Todd Akin kept a low profile Monday, a day after saying women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancies in "a legitimate rape" situation and that conception is rare in such cases. At least two Senate Republicans urged him to abandon the race.

The congressman had no public appearances scheduled Monday, and did not plan any further comments on the issue, according to a campaign spokesman. Akin canceled a Monday morning interview on St. Louis radio station KMOX.

The six-term representative is the GOP nominee for the Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill.

Asked in an interview Sunday on KTVI-TV if he would support abortions for women who have been raped, Akin said: "It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Later Sunday, Akin released a statement saying that he "misspoke" during the interview, though the statement did not say specifically which points were in error.

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview, and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," Akin's statement said.

Akin also said he believes "deeply in the protection of all life" and does "not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action."

The backlash against Akin's comments brought some calls for him to get out of the Senate race, including from Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, considered to be one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans in the November election.

"As a husband and father of two young women, I found Todd Akin's comments about women and rape outrageous, inappropriate and wrong," said Brown, who is locked in a tight race with Elizabeth Warren. "There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking."

Brown said Akin should apologize and resign the Senate nomination.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said in a tweet that Akin "should step aside today for the good of the nation."

Akin's comments also brought a swift rebuke from the campaign of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Romney and Ryan "disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said.

Romney went further in an interview with National Review Online, calling Akin's comment "insulting, inexcusable and frankly wrong."

"Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive," Romney said.

In an emailed statement Sunday, McCaskill said it was "beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape."

This month, the 65-year-old congressman won the state's Republican Senate primary by a comfortable margin. During the primary campaign, Akin enhanced his standing with TV ads in which former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee praised him as "a courageous conservative" and "a Bible-based Christian" who "supports traditional marriage" and "defends the unborn."

Ushering Akin from the race is complicated by the fact that he has never been a candidate beholden to the party establishment. Since being elected to Congress in 2000, Akin has relied on a grassroots network of supporters. His Senate campaign is being run by his son.

Behind the scenes, Republican officials were looking for intermediaries trusted by Akin to try to coax him from the race.

Missouri election law allows candidates to withdraw 11 weeks before Election Day. That means the deadline to exit the Nov. 6 election would be 5 p.m. Tuesday. Otherwise, candidates would need a court order to withdraw.

If Akin were to leave, state law holds that the Republican state committee has two weeks to name a replacement. The candidate would be required to file within 28 days of Akin's exit.

Akin, a former state lawmaker who was first elected to the House in 2000, also has a long-established base among evangelical Christians and was endorsed in the primary by more than 100 pastors.

Associated Press writers Henry Jackson in Washington and Chris Blank in Jefferson City, Mo., contributed to this report.