DURANGO, Colo. -- In the midst of a three-day swing of Colorado, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan had a special guest join him on the trail Monday: Speaker of the House John Boehner.

“You know, 22 years ago, I was running for congress for the first time,” Boehner said. “And you know, if they can’t say your name, they probably aren’t going to vote for you. Look at my name: Beaner. Bonner. Boner. I had no chance of winning, except I thought I could win. And during that campaign 22 years ago, I had a student at Miami of Ohio putting yard signs up for me named Paul Ryan. I’ve known Paul Ryan for a long time. You’re never going to find a more decent person on the face of the Earth.”

Taking the stage for the first time with the speaker on the campaign trail since being tapped as Mitt Romney’s running mate, Ryan said, “Hey, it's nice to see John ‘Boner’ here today, isn't it?”

Ryan continued in front of a roughly 1,500 person crowd at Fort Lewis College: “It's a true story, but I would put up yard signs as a young guy in college, I had no idea how to pronounce his name. But serving with him for 14 years, we kind of figured it out. John Boehner is a good man; he is a small business man who came to Congress to fight for jobs, and that's exactly what's he's doing."

The GOP vice-presidential nominee has been out campaigning in the Centennial State since Sunday evening and is holding three events in the battleground state today.

According to a CBS/NYT/Quinnipiac poll from the beginning of October, the race here was a tossup, with Romney holding the narrow edge 48 percent to 47 percent. And in the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday, President Obama and Romney are in a dead heat nationally -- both getting 47 percent of support among likely voters.

Early voting in the state started today with just 15 days until Election Day. Colorado has nine electoral votes up for grabs.

“We need your vote; we need your help. Early voting starts today so all I am simply saying is help us, we need your vote. Help us get this country back on the right track. We know who we are and we know what we believe and we can do this and get this done,” Ryan said speaking at a campaign rally outside of Vision Mechanical in Pueblo, CO, this morning.

Only continuing to show the importance of Colorado in the Nov 6^th election, both Romney and Ryan will hold a joint campaign rally here on Tuesday following the final presidential debate Monday evening. The GOP ticket will be joined in Morrison, CO, by Kid Rock and country singer Rodney Adkins plus New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

Updated 8:57 p.m. - BOCA RATON, FL -- Perhaps previewing President Barack bama’s approach in tonight’s foreign policy debate, Sen. John Kerry took to the spin room to decry Romney as an “unsteady, inexperienced, unclear hand” on foreign policy.

“We’re choosing a Commander in Chief of the United States of America in one of the most dangerous times in terms of the challenges abroad,” Kerry said, mentioning recent upheaval in Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Bahrain. “I don’t think it’s time to have an unsteady, inexperienced, unclear hand on the tiller of American foreign policy, period.”

Contrasting Romney’s domestic background with Obama’s four years of real-time foreign policy experience, Kerry, who has played Romney in debate practice versus Obama, added: “It doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of experience instead of none.”

Kerry also pilloried Romney for being both a flip-flopper on foreign policy issues and being an extremist within his own party.

“You can’t Etch A Sketch your way through foreign policy. You have to have some consistency and some precision,” Kerry said, slamming Romney as someone who has shifted positions on foreign policy throughout the campaign.

But then, he suggested that it was Romney’s rigidity in his foreign policy that put him so outside the mainstream of the Republican party.

“He spoke out about Libya. Shot from the hip. Didn’t even have the facts. And he was wrong as well as irresponsible. He talks about China. Members of his own party call him irresponsible in his China policy,” Kerry said.

While this debate is intended to focus solely on international relations, Kerry also took a minute to slam Romney over his signing a pledge, penned by Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist, that he would not raise taxes.

“Mitt Romney signed a pledge to a lobbyist to say he will not raise revenue and he’s tripled down on it in the course of this campaign. That’s pretty serious,” Kerry said.

He also suggested there was willingness within the Republican Party to work on raising revenues, but that a President Romney would overlook any such inclination.

Giving reporters a small window into debate preparation, Kerry made a few recognizable Romney allusions: one to his “binders full of women” comment and one to the Romney family’s dog, Seamus, who famously rode on top of their car during a road trip. 

“I was chosen from binders of senators and I learned my job well enough that when I went home my dog was growling at me so obviously I changed something. We’ll see how it works tonight,” Kerry said.

On a more serious note, he added, “I think the president could not be more anxious to defend the decisions he has made.”

“I’m confident about his leadership,” he added before walking away from a throng of still-shouting reporters. 

Appearing in the spin room later, Sen. John McCain, a Romney supporter, responded to Kerry's criticisms.

"They're always good at all these adjectives and adverbs but they never have anything to back it up with. They call him a liar, they call him all of these different names, and bluster, and then we had a cute 'Romnesia' - wasnt that cute and clever?" he said.

CANTON, OH -- Vice President Joe Biden has begun to take a different tack toward GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, taking aim at Romney's lurch toward the center on some issues and refusal to answer specifics on others.

Biden declared that the GOP ticket wasn't "hiding the ball" when it came to their agenda while campaigning earlier this year, but has begun to deliver a new message since the first presidential debate.

Seeking to hammer that message home in all-important swing state Ohio, Biden told a boisterous crowd Monday that "we are seeing the remaking of Mitt Romney right before our eyes."

Speaking to about 800 supporters at a Canton gymnasium, Biden cited women's rights and Afghanistan as policy areas where Romney's agenda is "etch-a-sketchy."

"This guy is out of touch on most of the fundamental issues," said Biden. "America's moved beyond where these guys are."

Biden's trip to Ohio marks his ninth visit there this year and the 23rd trip to the state of his vice presidency. He will hold five campaign rallies over three days, including a joint appearance with President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

While Biden's events are attended almost entirely by supportive and high-interest voters, they've become a barometer of how the campaign's new campaign attacks are resonating with the Democratic base. In Florida last week, voters chanted "malarkey!" in recognition of the vice president's uncorking of a favorite Irish colloquialism at the Danville debate. In Ohio Monday, supporters shouted "Romnesia!" even before Biden mentioned the new Democratic label for Romney's alleged malleability.

Hispanic voters continue to say they prefer President Obama by wide margins over Republican nominee Mitt Romney amid signs that the race is tightening among the broader electorate, according to new data in a NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll.

Recommended: First Thoughts: Presidential race couldn't be tighter - how each one wins

Obama leads Romney 70 percent to 25 percent among likely Latino voters (and 69 percent to 23 percent among registered voters), a slight uptick for Romney from the 70 percent to 25 percent lead the president held a month ago.

Read the full poll results here

But Latino enthusiasm has ticked up since last month, up from its lows earlier this cycle but still not yet on par with Latino enthusiasm for Obama in 2008.

More Hispanics than last month said they are either a 9 or 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest) on a measure of their enthusiasm for this election. Sixty-eight percent of likely Latino voters rated their enthusiasm at that level, up from 59 percent last month. But that is off from the 76 percent who said they were in that highest-interest group at this time four years ago. And it is below the 76 percent who are 9s and 10s in the wider NBC/WSJ poll.

The debates appear to have had little impact with Latinos in the poll, which was conducted entirely after the second presidential debate. Just 14 percent said they are now more likely to vote for Romney while 48 percent said it made them more likely to vote for Obama, and 35 percent said it made no difference.

A total of 13 percent of Latinos said they have already voted – either in person or by mail. Another 10 percent said they plan to vote before Election Day.

Related: In foreign policy, both Obama and Romney face fiscal realities

There were some drops for the president, however. His approval rating is still very strong at 66 percent, but it’s down from the sky-high 73 percent he enjoyed last month. On the economy, Obama’s approval declined slightly from 68 percent to 63 percent. And even his favorability saw a small decline from 74 percent positive last month to 69 percent this month.
 
The problem for Romney, however, continues to involve a severe image problem with Hispanics. A solid majority – 57 percent – of Hispanic voters said they had a negative view of the former Massachusetts governor, while just a quarter – 26 percent – had a positive impression of Romney.

In fact, almost half – 45 percent – had a “very negative” impression of Romney, up from 35 percent last month.

The NBC/WSJ poll, including the Hispanic oversample, was conducted from Oct. 17 to Oct. 20 and has a margin of error of +/- 6.8 percent among likely voters and +/- 5.7 percent among registered voters.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated Obama's economic approval as declining from 66 percent to 61 percent. It was actually a decline from 68 percent to 63 percent.

Tight as a tick on a deer in the woods, a dog in the bushes? Pick your simile. Whatever it is, the new NBC/WSJ poll shows a tied race. … Three reasons in the poll for why each candidate could win. … Which message wins the day – macro (Romney/economy, jobs taxes) or micro (Obama’s soft sell – compassion, character) … It’s also all about demographics – white men vs. Latinos. … Previewing tonight’s debate and why it’s tricky for Romney. … And how they’ll go after each other tonight. … 15 days to go!

BOCA RATON, FL -- Cue The ‘Tight As A Drum/Tick’ Cliches: Our latest national NBC/WSJ poll shows a 47%-47% tie among likely voters. Not all ties are created equal and the question is whether this tie signals a shift away from President Obama and toward Mitt Romney. The poll actually sends a lot of mixed messages on this front. The toplines, though, are not good for the president. The fact of the matter is 47% is a VERY precarious position for an incumbent. If this were 48-48 or 49-49, this would be a different conversation. A good ground game can make up 1 or 2 points; making up 3 points is a much taller order. To put it another way: if this race is at 47%-47% the Sunday before the election, there’s going to be a run on Tums at every pharmacy in walking distance of the Obama campaign’s Chicago headquarters. But it’s not the Sunday before Election Day. And if you digest the entire poll, this race isn’t nearly as easy to handicap as it might look on paper. It’s that close, folks, and we can point to three reasons why President Obama will win on Nov. 6 and three reasons why Mitt Romney will win.

*** Three reasons why Obama will win: (1) Room to grow: While he’s tied among likely voters, he leads by five points among registered voters, 49%-44%, which suggests a strong turnout can push him across the finish line. Indeed, Obama enjoys a HUGE lead among Latinos, and if they turn out in decent numbers that could help him -- especially in states like Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Virginia. (2) More economic optimism: Per the poll, 45% think the economy will improve in the next 12 months (that’s 18 points higher than it was in July), and only 9% believe it will get worse (the lowest percentage we’ve seen in the survey. EVER!). And (3) Obama’s just more likable than Romney: Obama’s fav/unfav is 49%-43% vs. Romney’s 43%-44%. But while those numbers for Romney are actually an improvement, he’s still trailing Obama badly on other personal connectivity traits. For instance, Obama leads Romney by a whopping 32 points (57%-25%) on who is more easygoing and likable. Obama also has HUGE leads on Romney on understanding “average people” and “looking out for the middle class.”

Slideshow: On the campaign trail

Reuters, Getty Images

In the final push in the 2012 presidential election, candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama make their last appeals to voters.

Launch slideshow

*** Three reasons why Romney will win: (1) Voters are becoming more and more comfortable with a Romney presidency: According to the poll, a combined 47% say they are either “optimistic and confident” or “satisfied and hopeful” about a Romney presidency -- up five points from our NBC/WSJ poll right before the debates. (That’s compared with Obama being at 50% on this question.) (2) Romney leads Obama when it comes to the economy: Despite that economic optimism mentioned above, Romney leads narrowly on the economy. And (3) Doubts about a second Obama term: 62% say the president should make major changes in a second term; just 4% said they want the second term to be like the first term. Again: 62% wants MAJOR CHANGES; 4% want status quo. Ouch. That’s a flashing red light, though it’s not far removed from the 55% who said the same about George W. Bush in 2004, who grinded out a victory. So when you look these six different points – three in favor for Obama, three in favor for Romney – you see why either the country will either “reluctantly” re-hire Obama or “reluctantly” fire him. This isn’t an easy decision for these last few undecided voters, either the ones truly undecided about the two candidates or the folks in the Obama coalition undecided about whether it’s worth voting.

*** Macro-messaging vs. Micro-messaging: Here’s another thing the election could hinge on: Whose messaging was better – Romney’s macro-message on the economy or Obama’s micro-message on everything else? As alluded to above, Romney holds a six-point lead over Obama (46%-40%) on which candidate would better deal with the economy. He also has the advantage on jobs and unemployment (46%-39%) and the federal budget deficit (48%-35%). And by a four-point margin (45%-41%), voters think Romney is better prepared to create jobs and improve the economy over the next four years. But Obama leads on almost all other issue and character-trait questions -- being easy going and likable, dealing with issue of concern to women (53%-25%), being compassionate enough to understand average people (53%-29%), looking out for the middle class (52%-36%) and dealing with Medicare (46%-37%) "Romney is dominating the macro-messaging of the economy," says NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D). "And Obama is dominating the micro-messaging" on things like women's issues, compassion and likeability. 

*** White men vs. Latinos: And what demographic group becomes more important in this election -- white men or Latinos? Per the poll, Romney leads Obama by a whopping 60%-34% among white men. According to Hart, white men represent 35% of all voters (or more) in all regions across the country, and that’s quite a deficit for Obama to make up. On the other hand, Obama is winning seven-in-10 Latinos, and that’s a big deficit for Romney, too. “The presidency right now is hinging on Latino turnout and margins,” says NBC/WSJ co-pollster Bill McInturff (R). Does Obama win them by 70%? Do they make up more than the 9% of the electorate they were in 2008? Or less? The answer could determine the election. This Latino gulf makes us think we might want to re-orient ourselves in focusing on Florida and Colorado as more decisive than say, Ohio and Virginia? Just a thought, folks. For more on Latinos, refresh your browser at noon ET on First Read for full NBC/WSJ/Telemundo oversample results.

*** Maybe the most striking set of numbers in the NBC/WSJ poll were these: 55% say who wins the upcoming presidential election will make a great deal of difference to their lives. That’s higher than in any other presidential election (2004, 1996, 1992) the poll has surveyed. And among these voters who say the election will mean a great deal of difference to them, 48% are backing Obama and 48% are supporting Romney -- once again, a tie. The country couldn’t be more split. We also see it in the question about which outcome they’d prefer -- an Obama presidency and a Democratic Congress, a Romney president and a GOP Congress, or some sort of split. Less than 10% wanted some sort of split control. Look for a LOT of straight-ticket voting. This could mean the battleground state Senate races, including Florida, Ohio and Nevada, will be MUCH closer than some believe.

*** The Battle in Boca: Tonight's presidential debate -- the final one of this race -- presents opportunities for both Obama and Romney, according to our NBC/WSJ poll. Given that the subject matter is on foreign policy, this should be an advantage for Obama. But he finds himself leading Romney by just three points on who would be a better commander-in-chief (44%-41%), down from his eight-point edge before the debate season began. (That said, Obama does lead Romney by eight points when it comes to strictly to foreign policy.) So a clear win for Obama offers the chance to see his numbers here go back up. For Romney, especially after he mishandled the exchange over Libya in the previous debate, tonight's showdown gives him the opportunity to maintain this near parity on being a commander-in-chief. As NBC/WSJ co-pollster Hart (D) puts it, a tie on this subject matter goes to the challenger. So that's the way to score tonight: Obama is looking for a clear win, and Romney is looking for a tie.

*** For Romney, the big threshold question -- ‘Can this guy be commander-in-chief’: This is a trickier debate for Romney than perhaps his campaign realizes (though they seem to be pretty aware of the challenge in this Politico piece). He has an easy game plan: hug many of Obama’s policies without embracing them completely. He has to try and send the message he won’t make much change without getting caught in the “Bush traps” on foreign policy. The country didn’t like Bush’s foreign policy; it’s why Democrats won control of Congress in 2006 and why Democrats trounced the GOP on all levels in 2008. But a lot of Romney’s advisers are veterans of the Bush years. How much can Romney separate himself? The president has big advantages in this debate if he doesn’t end up on the defensive too much on Libya. As commander-in-chief, he has the unique advantage of being able to say “I meet the families” of the fallen, like he did in Debate 2 very effectively. But for the president to “win” this confrontation tonight, he has to avoid Romney hugging him too much. The bottom line: if this debate is a draw, it may be a “win” for Romney because many viewers will watch with a simple question in mind: Can this guy be commander-in-chief? And for the war weary, they’ll want to know just what criteria will be used to get the U.S. involved in military conflicts. If Obama isn’t able to make sure there are clear differences in how each would conduct foreign policy, then it’s a missed opportunity

*** How the two sides will go after each other tonight -- Obama on Afghanistan, Iraq…: The Obama campaign is out with an ad hitting Romney on foreign policy and a blistering memo penned by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA). The ad focuses on Iraq and Afghanistan. Here’s the script: “A decade of war that cost us dearly. And now for president – a clear choice. President Obama ended the Iraq war. Mitt Romney Romney would have left 30,000 troops there and called bringing them home ‘tragic’. Obama’s brought 30,000 soldiers back from Afghanistan and has a responsible plan to end the war. Romney calls it Obama’s ‘biggest mistake.’ It’s time to stop fighting over there and start rebuilding here.” Kerry’s memo is hotly critical. Romney, he writes, “offers nothing but endless bluster and a record of dangerous blunders, failing at every turn to show he’s up to the challenge. In fact, Governor Romney has outlined fewer specific policies for how he would lead on national security issues than any presidential candidate in my memory.” He calls him an “extreme and expedient candidate who lacks the judgment and vision so vital for the Oval Office….” And he outlines six questions for Romney to answer on Al Qaeda, Afghanistan, Iran, working with other countries, China, and Libya.

*** …Romney focus on Iran: Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is out with a press release of it own called, “We can’t afford four more years of Obama’s foreign policy.” It cites the president’s handling of Iran, his policy toward Russia and China, as well as veterans’ care. Signaling its hit tonight, it clips this September Reuters piece: “Obama's early overtures to Iran were rejected, and the expansion of Tehran's nuclear program, which it says is purely peaceful, has created tension between Washington and Israel.” Romney foreign policy adviser Dan Senor, asked on TODAY about the New York Times story that the White House could sit down for bilateral talks (which the White House officially denies), he said Romney wouldn’t rule out negotiations. Romney’s “not going to rule anything out,” Senor said. But Romney believes “he’d be the better guy at the negotiating table.”

*** NBC’s Brian Williams goes behind the scenes of the Obama campaign: After the debate, NBC’s Brian Williams will follow President Obama on the campaign trail behind the scenes and interview the president on issues ranging from the economy to foreign policy and gridlock in Washington. Excerpts of the footage and interviews will air Wednesday and Thursday on Nightly News, Today, and Rock Center.

*** On the trail: The candidates are down ahead of tonight’s debate at Lynne University in Boca Raton, FL. It is scheduled to go from 9:00 pm ET to 10:30 pm ET. The candidates will be seated, and the debate will be moderated by CBS’s Bob Schieffer. The vice-presidential candidates are on the trail – Joe Biden campaigns in Canton, OH (the home of the pro-football Hall of Fame) at 11:30 am ET, then Lorain, OH,  at 3:15 pm ET … Paul Ryan campaigns in Colorado – at 1:00 pm ET in Pueblo West, 4:35 pm ET in Durango, 8:00 pm ET in Grand Junction. … First Lady Michelle Obama campaigns at Broward College in Davie, FL, at 3:00 pm ET … Jill Biden campaigns in Madison, WI, at 9:10 am ET, Appleton, WI, at 11:30 am ET. Also on the trail for Romney – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at noon ET in Hialeh, FL … And Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes four stops in Nevada at 11:15 am ET (Fernley), 1:00 pm ET (Fallon), 3:00 pm ET (Yerington), 5:30 pm ET (Carson City).

Countdown to Election Day: 15 days

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*** Monday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: RNC Chair Reince Priebus; Matt Welch and Erin McPike; Jeffrey Goldberg; Fmr. Sen. Byron Gordon and John Feehery; and WashPo’s Aaron Blake.

*** Monday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up:  MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Diane DeGette (D-CO), MSNBC Host Melissa Harris Perry, veteran journalist Carole Simpson, and Presidential Historian Alan Shroeder.  Today’s Power Panel includes TheGrio’s Joy-Ann Reid, Washington Post Columnist Matt Miller, and Fmr. Amb. Dennis Ross.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: Andrea anchors from Boca Raton, FL. Joining her:

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, NBC’s Chuck Todd and Richard Engel, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), The New York Times Elisabeth Bumiller, The Brookings Institution’s Bruce Riedel, “The Real Romney” author Michael Kranish and “Barack Obama: The Story” author David Maraniss.

*** Monday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews MSNBC contributor Michael Smerconish, Fmr. State Dept Officer Joel Rubin, Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, The Washington Post’s Anne Kornblut, Republican strategist Chip Saltsman, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Politico’s James Hohmann and Daily Beast contributor Zachary Karabell

Latest polls: National: NBC/WSJ: Tied 47%-47%, Politico/GW: Romney 49-47% (conducted mostly before the second debate – Oct. 14-18). States: OH: Quinnipiac: Obama 50-45%. PA: Muhlenberg: Obama 50-45%.

“With one debate left, President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney are retreating from the campaign trail to bone up on foreign policy, leaving the work of courting voters to their running mates,” AP writes. “Monday's debate in Boca Raton, Fla., with its focus on international affairs, is the third and final between the two rivals and comes just 15 days before the election.”

The New York Times’ Sanger: “The most time, Mr. Schieffer has said, will be spent on the Arab uprisings, their aftermath and how the terrorist threat has changed since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.” More: The early line is that this is an opportunity for Mr. Obama to shine, and to repair the damage from the first debate. (He was already telling jokes the other night, at a dinner in New York, about his frequent mention of Osama bin Laden’s demise.) But we can hope that it is a chance for both candidates to describe, at a level of detail they have not yet done, how they perceive the future of American power in the world. They view American power differently, a subject I try to grapple with at length in a piece in this Sunday’s Review, ‘The Debatable World.’”

The L.A. Times: “Foreign policy may be the topic, but undecided voters will be the targets when Mitt Romney and President Obama hold their third and final debate Monday night.”

Politico calls tonight “Romney’s toughest debate.” Mitt Romney has a clear-eyed and self-aware view of his chances in the final debate Monday, according to top advisers: It will be almost impossible to win, since the debate is focused exclusively on foreign policy, a strength for President Barack Obama. This view isn’t merely about expectations-setting. Romney’s top advisers authentically worry that the swing voters they need to woo care little about foreign affairs right now. And, even if they did, the differences between the two men on many of the highest-profile issues — ending the Afghan war and the bloodshed in Syria — are too slight to draw sharp distinctions. Even if Romney does bring his A game, Obama joked last week about his debate strategy for winning the showdown in Florida: ‘Spoiler alert: We got bin Laden.’ It’s not a joke that he said it, or that he uses that conquest to maximum political advantage in debates and speeches to show strength and achievement.”

The campaign went up with a Web video focused on Colorado. “Success is when you build people up,” says Bob Sakata, Owner Sakata Farms. He adds, “With all these uncertainties, we as entrepreneurs cannot make a long-range plan of investments moving forward. But with Mr. Romney’s philosophy I think that will immediately change, that we would have confidence in leadership.” More: "What did I think about President Obama four years ago? Why, I have to admit that I was rather impressed with him. And I have to be very honest with you today, there is no real meat to his conversation anymore.”

Could a tie or electoral/popular vote split happen? The Wall Street Journal: “The odds of a spilt decision are small: It has happened just three times in U.S. presidential history, most recently when George W. Bush edged out Al Gore in 2000, despite falling 540,530 votes shy of Mr. Gore’s vote haul. But the makings of a split outcome are clearly there, due in part to a range of factors peculiar to this election.”

“From the start of his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama’s aides have said national security would be the toughest flank for opponents to penetrate,” Bloomberg/Business Week writes, adding, “In tonight’s final presidential debate, devoted to foreign policy, the different paths Obama and Mitt Romney favor will be on trial. The president emphasizes working with allies to put pressure on adversaries; his Republican rival stresses U.S. military might and says he’d be tougher on Russia, China, Iran and terrorists. While many of their core policies are similar, even small contrasts may mean a lot.”

“When Mitt Romney declared during his first debate with President Obama that “I like coal,” it caused Senator John F. Kerry to cock his ear because it didn’t quite ring true with his understanding of the Republican presidential nominee’s record,” the Boston Globe’s Johnson writes. “This past week, when Romney again expressed his affinity for the coal industry during their second debate, Obama pounced. ‘When I hear Governor Romney say he’s a big coal guy,’ the president said, ‘keep in mind, when you were governor of Massachusetts, you stood in front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said, ‘This plant kills,’ and took great pride in shutting it down. And now suddenly you’re a big champion of coal.’

“Chalk up one victory for Kerry’s role as Romney’s stand-in during the president’s debate preparation sessions. Credit all those hours he’s spent reading Romney’s news clippings, speeches, and interview transcripts with a very public payoff for the candidate he is serving.”

The New York Times: “Wall St. May Not Cheer, but Obama’s Been Good for Stocks.” From the story: “Through Friday, since Mr. Obama’s inauguration — his first 1,368 days in office — the Dow Jones industrial average has gained 67.9 percent. That’s an extremely strong performance — the fifth best for an equivalent period among all American presidents since 1900. The Bespoke Investment Group calculated those returns for The New York Times.”

Johnson goes to Iowa to take the temperature of the race in Newton, a former Maytag town.

The Argus Leader: “George McGovern, the three-term senator from South Dakota and 1972 presidential candidate who inspired a generation of Democrats, has died after being hospitalized Monday. He was 90.”

AP’s Italie: “Rock on: George McGovern's candidacy a landmark for counterculture.” Setting the scene: “Abbie Hoffman sobbed that fateful night at the downtown Manhattan apartment of fellow activist Jerry Rubin. So did Rubin and Allen Ginsberg. John Lennon was drunk, and out of control, shouting ‘Up the Revolution!’ in mock celebration of a dream defeated. It was November 1972 and George McGovern had just been whipped in a landslide by Richard Nixon.”

NPR: “If George McGovern often seemed miscast as a presidential candidate, he was at least as improbable as an icon of the anti-war movement. The Vietnam War gave birth to an opposition movement unlike any America had seen in its previous wars. It was young, unconventional and countercultural, defiant of authority and deeply suspicious of government. McGovern himself was none of these things. He was, at the time of his presidential nomination, a 50-year-old two-term senator from South Dakota, a family man and the son of a small-town Methodist minister. He had been a decorated bomber pilot with 35 combat missions in World War II and had spent most of his adult life in politics, mostly in Washington. Few people outside his home state had ever heard of him before.”

Time wraps his life: “An intelligent, confident politician who twice stepped up as his party’s candidate and worked to turn the counterculture of the ’60s into a mainstream political phenomenon, he ultimately remains best known for his vehement opposition to the Vietnam War. McGovern, a World War II Air Force veteran with Ph.D in History, served for 18 years as the Democratic Senator of a heavily conservative state, during which time he served on the Agriculture Committee and attempted to bridge the deepening rifts within his party.”

Heading into Monday's final debate and with just over two weeks until Election Day, President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney are now tied nationally, according the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Obama and Romney both get 47 percent among likely voters in the latest edition of the poll, conducted entirely in the aftermath of the second presidential debate last Monday. In the previous national NBC/WSJ poll, which was conducted before debate season began, the president held a narrow, three-point lead over his GOP challenger, 49 percent to 46 percent.

But among the wider pool of all registered voters in this new survey, Obama is ahead of Romney by five points, 49 percent to 44 percent.

Read the full poll (.pdf)

"We definitely have a barn burner," says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart.

Hart adds, "The election is close, close, close."

Voters more comfortable with Romney
What appears to have benefited Romney, especially after the first two presidential debates, is that voters are more comfortable with him.

A combined 47 percent of registered voters say they are either optimistic and confident or satisfied and hopeful that Romney would do a good job as president -- up five points since the last NBC/WSJ poll. By comparison, Obama's percentage stands at 50 percent on this question, which is unchanged from the previous survey.

In addition, heading into Monday's foreign-policy debate, Romney trails Obama by just three points (44 percent to 41 percent) on which candidate would be better commander in chief, which is down from the president's eight-point edge on this question last month.

And Romney's favorable/unfavorable rating has slightly improved -- from 41 percent favorable/44 percent unfavorable in the last poll, to 43 percent favorable/44 percent unfavorable now.

Obama's score stands at 49 percent favorable/43 percent unfavorable.

Growing economic optimism
But if voters are becoming more comfortable with Romney, they also are becoming more optimistic about the economy.

Forty-five percent believe the economy will improve in the next 12 months. That's up one point from the last poll and a whopping 18 points since July. What's more, 41 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, which is the highest mark on this question since June 2009.

Overall, Obama's approval ratings are unchanged from the last survey -- 49 percent approve of his overall job performance, 46 percent approve of his handling of the economy and 49 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy.

Macro-messaging vs. micro-messaging
Despite this growing economic optimism, however, Romney holds a six-point lead over Obama (46 percent to 40 percent) on which candidate would better deal with the economy. That's up three points (45 percent to 42 percent) since the last poll.

Romney also has the advantage on jobs and unemployment (46 percent to 39 percent) and the federal budget deficit (48 percent to 35 percent).

And by a four-point margin (45 percent to 41 percent), voters think Romney is better prepared to create jobs and improve the economy over the next four years.

But Obama leads on almost all other issue and character-trait questions -- being easy going and likable (57 percent to 25 percent), dealing with issue of concern to women (53 percent to 25 percent), being compassionate enough to understand average people (53 percent to 29 percent), looking out for the middle class (52 percent to 36 percent) and dealing with Medicare (46 percent to 37 percent).

"Romney is dominating the macro-messaging of the economy," Hart says, "and Obama is dominating the micro-messaging" -- on things like women's issues, compassion and likeability.

The demographic breakdown
Taking a look at the key demographic groups in this election, Obama leads among African Americans (92 percent to 5 percent), Latinos (winning about seven in 10 of them), women (52 percent to 41 percent) and voters 18-34 (61 percent to 33 percent).

Romney, meanwhile, has the edge among seniors (60 percent to 35 percent), whites (55 percent to 38 percent) and men (47 percent to 45 percent).

But Romney's gender gap narrows when you move from registered voters to likely voters -- Obama's lead with women shrinks to eight points (51 percent to 43 percent), and Romney's advantage with men grows to 10 points (53 percent to 43 percent).

The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Oct. 17-20 among 1,000 registered voters (including 300 cell phone-only respondents) and 816 likely voters. The margin of error is plus-minus 3.1 percentage points for the sample of registered voters and plus-minus 3.43 percentage points for the sample of likely voters.

Republicans said momentum is on Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's side as a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Romney drawing even with President Barack Obama.

As the 2012 election enters its home stretch — 16 days and one final presidential debate remain before Election Day — Obama and Romney were tied at 47 percent among likely voters nationwide.

"I like what I see, because the trend is in our direction," said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a top surrogate for the Romney campaign. "The enthusiasm and energy are on our side."

NBC/WSJ poll: Presidential contest now tied

Romney has closed the gap versus Obama in a series of national and battleground state polls released since the first presidential debate earlier this month, when the Republican presidential nominee was generally acknowledged to have bested the president. The momentum for Romney has spurred Republican optimism that they may be able to defeat Obama, who's led his Republican challenger in most polls throughout the year. 

"We feel good about where we are. We feel we're even or ahead in these battleground states," said senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod about the new poll numbers. 

RELATED: Obama and Romney each emphasize early voting

The Romney resurgence must play out in a series of crucial battleground states — Florida, Ohio and Virginia, in particular — if the Republican challenger is to subsume Obama on Nov. 6. 

"We like the way Florida's going," said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) of the movement in Romney's direction. "We've always predicted it would go this way."

Both Obama and Romney have barnstormed these battleground states in recent weeks, encouraging supporters to vote early and trying to persuade a winnowing sliver of undecided voters. 

Each campaign had evidence for optimism as of Sunday. Republicans circulated an editorial from the Columbus Dispatch of Ohio, which called the president "unsuited to a second term." Axelrod pointed to state-level polls — including the NBC/WSJ/Marist polls this Thursday, which showed Obama leading by eight points in Iowa and six in Wisconsin — as evidence of the president's Electoral College firewall. 

NBC/WSJ/Marist polls: Obama holds lead in Iowa and Wisconsin

The candidates will get their next opportunity to shake up those poll numbers on Monday evening, when they meet for their third and final debate of the election. That debate, which will be hosted at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., is supposed to focus primarily on issues of foreign policy. 

Obama and Romney have sparred most intensely on the topic of how the president and his administration have managed the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. 

Axelrod unleashed a harsh attack on Romney, accusing the GOP nominee of "disgraceful" behavior for releasing a statement shortly after the events in Benghazi, which essentially accused the administration of sympathizing with the attackers, and apologizing for American values. 

"There's only one candidate here who's tried to exploit it from the beginning," Axelrod said. "Even while the flames were burning in Benghazi, Mitt Romney was sending out political press releases."

The Republican nominee has latched onto the administration's shifting explanations for the attack to make the case that Obama was essentially caught off-guard by the attacks. The administration at first said the attacks were the spontaneous outgrowth of protests related to a controversial video, but has shifted to acknowledge the attack in Libya was coordinated by terrorists.

Romney has also argued the administration has been insufficiently tough toward Iran's nuclear program, an assertion that might be colored by a new New York Times report that the administration and the Iranian government had agreed to one-on-one negotiations after the election. The administration called the report untrue, and both Portman and Rubio declined to hit Obama on that basis. 

But, in anticipation of tomorrow's debate, Portman said: "I think what you're going to see is Gov. Romney lay out a clear agenda for how to get Iran to do the right thing."

"They're feeling the heat, and that's what the sanctions were meant to do," Axelrod said in defense of the administration's handling of Iran. The Obama campaign adviser also ridiculed Romney's foreign trip this past summer as a "Dukes of Hazzard  tour of international destinations."

The Obama campaign has also sought to reignite a battle over women's issues in the last week to bolster the president's advantage among women voters. Obama led Romney, 51 to 43 percent, among women in the new NBC/WSJ data, but that was a narrower advantage for Obama than in past editions of the poll. 

The president's campaign has sought to remind voters of Romney's promises to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, or his promises during primary season to sign legislation to curb access to abortion, should it cross his desk. The Obama campaign also seized on Romney's remarks during last Tuesday's debate that he had "binders full of women" prepared for him as governor to help increase gender diversity in his office.

Rubio argued those attacks masked a bereft second-term agenda from Obama, and that Romney had begun to close the gender gap by focusing on issues of jobs and the economy.

"You just read a poll that the gender gap is narrowing," Rubio said. "The reason why is because Barack Obama is not offering anything."

Heading into Monday's final debate and with just over two weeks until Election Day, President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney are now tied nationally, according the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Obama and Romney both get 47 percent among likely voters in the latest edition of the poll, conducted entirely in the aftermath of the second presidential debate last Monday. In the last national NBC/WSJ poll, which was conducted before debate season began, the president held a narrow, three-point lead over his GOP challenger, 49 percent to 46 percent.

But among the wider pool of all registered voters in this new survey, Obama is ahead of Romney by five points, 49 percent to 44 percent.

Looking at some of the most important demographic groups, Romney leads among men (53 percent to 43 percent), Obama is up with women (51 percent to 43 percent) and they are essentially tied among voters in the Midwest.

The full poll — which was conducted Oct. 17-20 among 1,000 registered voters and 816 likely voters — will be released at 6:30 pm ET tonight.

The margin of error is plus-minus 3.1 percentage points for the sample of registered voters and plus-minus 3.43 percentage points for the sample of likely voters. 

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- Joining a chorus of Democratic mockery with puns aimed at GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Vice President Joe Biden warned a Floridian crowd late Friday that "Romnesia" is a communicable disease that also appears to have been contracted by the Republican's running mate.

"The president has a new term for this sort of ability to change your mind so quickly: He calls it 'Romnesia,'" Biden said, echoing the president's new line from a Virginia appearance earlier today. "Boy, I tell you what, I hope y'all don't get Romnesia. It's a bad disease. It's a bad disease and it is contagious."

The crowd guffawed as Biden mock-explained how the illness has spread to Rep. Paul Ryan as well.

"All of sudden Paul Ryan the budget hawk- the guy that introduced a whole budget that already passed ... the House of Representatives," Biden explained. "All of sudden he doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember what it does to the vital programs that mean so much to working people."

The punnery has been met with eye rolls from many Republicans even as Democrats insist the branding of Romney as an indecisive Don Draper will remind independent voters of their distrust for the former Massachusetts governor.

"The latest rhetoric from President Obama and Vice President Biden tells voters everything they need to know about their campaign," said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. "While the president and vice president desperately resort to the kind of campaign they once denounced, Mitt Romney is focused on getting Americans back to work and delivering a real economic recovery."

While in Florida, Biden also introduced a new prop for his recently unveiled riff on Romney's position on women's rights.

"On Tuesday when Governor Romney was asked a direct question at the last debate whether or not women deserved equal pay for equal work, what was his answer?" he said, brandishing an actual folio. "Binders! he started talking about binders!"

Jason Reed / Reuters

President Barack Obama stops mid-stride to greet supporters during a campaign rally at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Oct. 19, 2012.

President Barack Obama has been hitting GOP nominee Mitt Romney for weeks over what he says is Romney’s shifting to more moderate general-election policies, but now he has a new catchphrase for it: "Romnesia."

Speaking at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Obama turned the joke into a four-minute soliloquy, laying out what he said were all of Romney’s inconsistent positions.

“He's changing up so much -- backtracking and sidestepping. We've got to name this condition that he's going through. I think ... I think it's called 'Romnesia,'" he said as the crowd of 9,000 erupted into cheers and applause. “Now, I'm not a medical doctor but I do want to go over some of the symptoms with you. Because I want to make sure nobody else catches it.”

Given that the event was geared towards female voters -- signs at the front of the stage read “Women’s Health Security” and even the invocation was centered around women’s issues -- Obama first mentioned what he said were Romney’s evolving statements on workplace fairness and women’s health.

“If you say you're for equal pay for equal work, but you keep refusing to say whether or not you'd sign a bill that protects equal pay for equal work, you might have Romnesia,” he said as the crowd laughed. “If you say women should have access to contraceptive care, but you supported legislation that would let your employers deny you contraceptive care, you might have a case of Romnesia.”

He concluded by joking that his health care plan would be able to cure anyone suffering from what ails Romney.

“And if you come down with a case of Romnesia, and you can't seem to remember the policies that are still on your website or the promises you've made over the six years you've been running for president, here's the good news. 'Obamacare' covers preexisting conditions! We can fix you up! We've got a cure!” he exclaimed as the audience reached a fever pitch.

Before launching into his new attack line, Obama also renewed his criticism over Romney’s economic plan, again calling it a “sketchy deal” and noting that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called it a “snow job on the American people.”

But most of Obama’s critiques for Romney pertained specifically to women’s issues, which emerged as one of the hottest topics in Tuesday’s presidential debate.

He warned that the next president would potentially have the ability to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, raising the prospect of revisiting the landmark Roe v. Wade decision regarding abortion rights.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Two-year-old Sacha Marzett wears a homemade Obama t-shirt while waiting in line to attend a campaign rally at George Mason University campus October 19, 2012 in Fairfax, Va.

Obama also alluded to Romney’s “binders full of women” comment during the debate.

“When the next president and Congress would tip the balance of the highest court in the land in a way that turns back the clock for women and families for decades to come, you don't want someone who needs to ask for binders of women. You don't want that guy," he said.

Virginia Delegate Barbara Comstock responded to the president’s remarks on behalf of the Romney campaign, saying in a statement: "Women haven’t forgotten how we’ve suffered over the last four years in the Obama economy with higher taxes, higher unemployment, and record levels of poverty. President Obama has failed to put forward a second-term agenda -- and when you don’t have a plan to run on, you stoop to scare tactics."

The president returned to the White House after his remarks, from which he'll depart later on Friday for Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, where he’ll prepare for next Monday’s presidential debate.