DUBLIN, OH – Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said her impression after attending a recent Mitt Romney speech is that "there's just nothing going on" with the Republican presidential nominee. She said his understanding of foreign policy not only lacks depth but diminishes U.S. standing abroad.

"He is so two-dimensional. I mean, up close and personal, there's just nothing going on," she said.

Speaking at a Women for Obama rally here just outside of Columbus, OH on Sunday, Albright told the crowd that she had recently been on hand when Romney delivered his address at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

"It's the sense that I've had throughout the campaign that it's unclear what [Romney] really believes in," Albright told reporters after the event. "I think when you contrast him with President Obama, who also gave a speech later there, and President Clinton, who spoke several times there, there is not, kind of, a sense of depth."

Albright also mentioned the video of Romney suggesting that 47 percent of Americans view themselves as victims, arguing that the comments "diminish us in many different ways" and that the former Massachusetts governor's rhetoric sounds like he wants to start another war.

Albright, who in 1996 was appointed by President Bill Clinton to become the first female secretary of state, has been an active surrogate for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.  She has traveled to swing states across the country, often reaching out to women voters. Sunday's event came just two days before Ohio begins early voting -- and while she did mention women's issues -- most of her speech was aimed at discrediting Romney's foreign policy views.

The former top diplomat also defended the Obama administration’s handling of the recent attack on a U.S. Consulate in Libya, telling reporters, "I think they said what they knew, when they knew it."

The attack, which U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice originally said was spontaneous, has since been deemed by the administration as a coordinated and planned effort. The Romney campaign pounced on what they described as mixed messages.

White House senior adviser David Plouffe said on NBC's "Meet The Press" that it was not initially clear if the attack in Benghazi was an act of terror, while Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod said on CNN's "State of the Union" that, "The president called it an act of terror the day after it happened."

“The Obama White House and the Obama campaign can’t seem to get their stories straight on the attack on our consulate in Libya,” Romney spokesperson Ryan Williams said in press release.

“These inconsistencies raise even more questions about the confusion and mixed messages that have marked the White House’s response from the very beginning.”

Albright accused Republicans of politicizing the death of four Americans.

"It takes a while to know what all the facts are. So I believe that the administration is telling us what they know and they are being very careful not to get ahead of the whole investigative process," she said. "We also support the president's re-election because we want a chief executive who actually understands foreign policy."

BARNESVILLE, Ohio -- Rick Santorum on Saturday said the entire Republican Party should voice its support for Senate candidate Todd Akin of Missouri -- including the top of the party's presidential ticket.

After holding a rally for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney here in the heart of Ohio's coal country, Santorum told NBC News that an Akin victory is essential for the GOP to regain control of the Senate and repeal President Barack Obama's health care law. The only way for that to happen, Santorum said, is for the GOP establishment to give the embattled Akin its full-fledged support.

"The entire Republican Party should stand up and say, 'You know what? He's our candidate, it's too important for the future of our country not to have a majority of the Senate in this upcoming election," Santorum said when asked if Romney needs to publicly support Akin. "I'm hoping everybody will join in and support the cause."

The former Pennsylvania senator and unsuccessful president candidate joined South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint in announcing their support of Akin on Wednesday.

"I don't know what the Republican establishment -- what their objective is, but if they want to repeal Obamacare, we better hold the Senate. And to hold the Senate, we better win Missouri," Santorum said.

Akin has taken heat from both sides of the aisle after using the term "legitimate rape" and saying women have a biological way of preventing unwanted pregnancies while he gave a now-notorious explanation of his views on abortion.

"My feeling is that we can win the presidency, but if we don't have 51 senators, we're not going to be able to repeal Obamacare," said Santorum.

Romney's former rival has been active campaigning for the presidential candidate in the Buckeye State. It's a primary Santorum nearly won on Super Tuesday, and his support was particularly strong in this part of the state, heavy with blue-collar workers and not far from his home of Pittsburgh.

Despite recent polls showing Romney needing to make up significant ground in Ohio, the former senator remained optimistic about the state turning red. "I'm confident that Mitt Romney will win Ohio, will when the presidency," he said. "People here understand how dangerous this president is."

That danger, Santorum said, stems from the president's energy policy, which he claims makes the U.S. more dependent on foreign oil. It is a message the Romney campaign hopes will resonate in this coal-rich part of the state.  It is here where Republicans go to hammer Obama for waging a "war on coal."

"This is a president that is going to drive this country to economic ruin because of a phony ideology that, you know, somehow or another he has to control the seas rising and falling," Santorum said.

While Santorum has been traveling as a Romney surrogate, he also has been holding events in places like Iowa independent of the presidential race. It has fueled speculation that he could be eyeing another run.

Asked about his political future, Santorum would only say that he will be happy in 2016 to continue his work as a Romney surrogate. "I'll be happy to come back and campaign for Gov. Romney in four years," he said.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – First Lady Michelle Obama continued to embrace her role as President Barack Obama's chief character witness on Wednesday, telling thousands of young North Carolinians that her husband is an inclusive leader with compassion for all Americans.

"As president, you have to be driven by the struggles, hopes and dreams of all the people you serve," Michelle Obama told the 3,100 gathered at a rally in Durham, emphasizing the word "all."

 "As president, you truly need a strong inner compass, you know, a core commitment to your fellow citizens," she said. "That's how you make the right decisions for this country."

She went on to tell the crowd that the president "has been struggling with us. And together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of that hole we started in."

The first lady did not mention GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney or Republicans during two rallies on college campuses in North Carolina. But her message drew a noticeable contrast with the recently-unearthed video of Romney telling supporters at a fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans do not "take personal responsibility" and "who believe that they are victims.” Romney conceded in the video that he is not reaching out to those voters because he cannot win their vote.

The Obama campaign jumped on the comments in a fundraising email. And Tuesday night, President Obama told David Letterman, "If you want to be president, work for everyone, not just for some." Vice President Joe Biden declined to answer questions about the former Massachusetts governor's remarks earlier this week.

Michelle Obama spoke to predominantly young and African American crowds at North Carolina Central University and East Carolina University.

She remained optimistic that the president could win the Tar Heel State in November, as he did four years ago, although polling shows him trailing behind Romney.

Not only did Obama encourage the college-aged crowd to vote, but she urged them to take advantage of the state's early voting that begins next month.

"Vote early. You know how you all are," she said, joking that young people have a habit of oversleeping or forgetting Election Day. A win in North Carolina, she said, would put the president on track to reelection.

"We cannot turn back now," the first lady said in Greenville. "We have come so far, but we have so much more work to do."

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Sen. John McCain reached out to veterans in New Hampshire on Monday, delivering a scathing critique of President Barack Obama's foreign policy while attempting to portray Republicans as the only party willing to compromise over the contentious issue of defense sequestration cuts.

McCain - the 2008 GOP presidential nominee - visited the Granite State to campaign for Mitt Romney and held town halls at three Veterans of Foreign War posts in the state he got to know well during his previous bids for the White House.  A veteran himself, McCain said support from the men and women who served in the military will be vital for Romney to win here.

In each of the town halls, the Arizona Republican gave a harsh rebuttal to the foreign policy decisions made by the current administration. His most passionate argument centered around the recent attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya which took the lives of four Americans, including Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens. U.S. officials such as Susan Rice, ambassador to the United Nations, characterized the attack as "a spontaneous reaction" to a video mocking the prophet Muhammad.

It's a characterization McCain called "disgraceful."

"This was a well-orchestrated attack. They had indirect fire, direct fire. And somehow there were reports that they knew where our ambassador was. That is not a spontaneous demonstration," McCain told a crowd gathered at the VFW post in Portsmouth. "That is wrong to tell the American people that it was. It's disgraceful to tell the American people that it was a spontaneous demonstration."

McCain was joined for part of the day by New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. The two have been part of a group of Republicans who have toured the country to warn about the dangers of automatic spending cuts to the defense budget, known as "sequestration." The cuts, which were agreed to by Congress and the White House last year as part of deficit-reduction plan, will take place unless Washington can agree to an alternative way to slash spending.

During a stop in Nashua, McCain called on the president to "invite us to the White House. We'll compromise. We'll prevent a devastating effect on our ability to defend this nation."

Later in the day McCain said Republicans are "willing to put everything on the table for the sake of our national security." But he said the president has been unwilling to negotiate and cited it as an example of Obama's failed leadership.

Much of McCain's energy on Monday was also aimed at defending Romney's foreign policy credentials, which have come under new scrutiny since the GOP nominee criticized the president's handling of attacks on American outposts in the Middle East. The former Massachusetts governor was viewed by some as trying to politicize an event which took U.S. lives. McCain defended Romney's statements, likening his world view to that of former President Ronald Reagan.

"When Ronald Reagan came out of governor of California, he wasn't the most versed in national security issues," McCain told a VFW crowd. "He had been a movie actor and governor of California. But he had the instincts. He spoke up for the oppressed ... Mitt Romney has those same instincts."

But it was not just Romney's foreign policy experience that McCain found himself defending. Throughout the day, he faced questions from conservatives worried about their prospects come November.

One voter asked -- given the country's bleak economic outlook -- why Romney isn’t leading in the polls.  Another asked why the former Bain Capital CEO will not be more specific about his plans for the country.

McCain cited the contentious Republican primary where the Romney campaign had to endure an onslaught of negative attacks as part of the reason why the candidate is having such difficulty winning over voters. "I've never seen in modern times such vicious attacks," McCain said. "Bain Capital, allegations that he was quote, lying; even one person said he had committed a crime. There was a saturation. And so, it's regrettable."

When a woman said she worries Republicans will not be able to spread their message far enough to garner electoral success, McCain said, "I do, too."

The concern on display from voters today came in the wake of a Politico article citing in-fighting in the Romney campaign for recent blunders and missed opportunities at the Republican National Convention. It's a narrative McCain knows well; his unsuccessful 2008 run was plagued by similar stories.

"There's always some disagreements amongst campaigns, but you know, political folks need to write a story every day," McCain told NBC News after his Portsmouth town hall. "But look, these things are always there. We saw about dissension in the Obama campaign between Chicago and Washington. There's always those stories. Most Americans are not too concerned about it."

ORLANDO, Fla. – Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday painted Republicans as a party controlled by its most extreme members, unwilling to compromise and too conservative for former GOP leaders like Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower – Richard Nixon’s too liberal for these people. It’s amazing," Clinton told the 2,000 people packed into a hotel ballroom here. He said the most right-wing members of the GOP control the party's nominations and "political operations."

Clinton has spent the past two days campaigning for President Barack Obama in Florida. The tour comes a week after he delivered a well-received speech at the Democratic National Convention in which he laid out the case for the president's re-election.

His stops here and Miami were largely an extension of those arguments.

"The American people have to believe me on this; I have traveled all over the world, not just when I was president, but since I left,” Clinton said. “I work everywhere. I'm telling you what works; what works is cooperation. What fails is constant conflict. You've got to vote for cooperation."

He did not mention the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, which took four lives and were condemned by top U.S. officials. He stayed away from foreign policy, continuing to focus on the economy, and making the case that America is better off now than when Obama took office nearly four years ago.

"I want to say again something I said in Charlotte, because the whole election could come down to this. I honestly believe – it doesn't matter who caused it or whether the contributing factors all happened under President Bush or something I did or something Ronald Reagan did 30 years ago." he said.  "Regardless, President Obama didn't cause it ... but if he just kept telling us that and not done anything, we'd still have to replace him, because we hired him to take the job and you don’t get to pick only the good and not the bad. So he took it on."

Clinton said calls for austerity measures and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are irresponsible given the country's slow economic growth.

"I was always taught, when you're in a hole, the first rule is to quit digging," he said.

Clinton's biggest applause lines during his Florida tour have been criticizing Republicans for their inaccurate arithmetic and saying that hypocritical attacks against the president take “real brass."

Tying up his speech, Clinton urged the crowd to choose "arithmetic over illusion."

AKRON, OH – Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Wednesday that President Barack Obama is "directly assaulting" religious freedom and that his administration has implemented policies that force Catholics to abandon their faith.

"We have a president who, for the first time in American history, is directly assaulting the First Amendment and freedom of religion,” Santorum said. “He is going to tell you what to do in the practice of your faith. He is forcing business people right now to do things that are against their conscience, that they will have to – if you're a Catholic – you'll have to go to confession … to confess that you are complying with a government program that is a sin in the Catholic Church."

The former Pennsylvania senator did not say what government programs he was referring to, but during his presidential run he frequently noted a controversial government mandate requiring religious institutions to include contraception in their health care coverage.

Santorum was in Ohio stumping for former rival Mitt Romney at the rally titled "Who Shares Our Values?"  His campaign was largely defined by his Catholic faith and views on social issues, and in Ohio on Wednesday, he said a President Romney would work hard to defend religious liberty, an issue he called "close to my heart." Santorum cited as proof Romney's 2008 award from The Becket Fund, a non-profit institute that aims to protect religious freedoms.

While Santorum was passionate about defending the First Amendment, he was also passionate about Romney’s choice of running mate -- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).  Ryan's name drew thunderous applause here, where homegrown senator Rob Portman was also considered for the position.

"What Paul Ryan stands for in conservative circles and in the media and in this country, for those who know him, is someone who is willing to challenge the status quo and have bold ideas to confront the problems of this country in a truthful fashion," Santorum said.

Santorum, who was Romney's top challenger for the GOP presidential nomination, has stumped in and around Pennsylvania throughout the summer. After a contentious primary, Santorum faced questions about his commitment to helping Romney going into the fall. His endorsement came in a late night email that was interpreted as a sign of his tepid support.

But on Wednesday, Santorum indicated that he fully supports Romney's decision to add the 42-year-old Wisconsinite to the ticket. He called it the most important decision Romney has made during his campaign.

Though Santorum is no longer running, the packed room of enthusiastic supporters was proof that he still has pull in the state where he narrowly lost to Romney on Super Tuesday.  He told the audience how important it is that they get involved in the swing state, which he called a must win.

"Romney and Ryan have to win here," Santorum said. "If they do, chances are they will win."

DENVER, Colo. – Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH, visited Colorado Wednesday hoping to create a clear contrast between the GOP and President Barack Obama. And in front of a famed Obama backdrop, that difference looked as clear as it sounded.

The Ohio senator hopped out of a Mitt Romney campaign bus parked near the football stadium where, in 2008, then-candidate Obama delivered a rousing address before tens of thousands of emphatic supporters. Portman, however, addressed just 50 supporters in the unpaved parking lot outside Sports Authority Field.

"Four years ago this month, at the stadium right behind us, Barack Obama gave an interesting speech, didn't he?" Portman said. He picked apart Obama's speech, listing promises the president made about the economy and jobs that Portman said he hasn’t kept. Portman also noted the development of clean coal technologies and U.S. energy resources like natural gas and oil as failures.

"He said, you know, elect me and I'm going to bring people together to solve big problems. Has he done that? No he hasn't, sadly he has not," Portman said.

Another difference in setting that he pointed out was the absence of the Greek pillars that stood behind Obama during his convention speech, a visual that has become a Republican talking point since Greece's economic chaos of recent years.

"I expected to have the Parthenon behind me or something, whatever he had that day," Portman joked.

Portman's visit to the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention was just one of five stops he made in the Centennial State on Wednesday, the same day Obama made campaign stops throughout the state.

And though the low-key potential vice presidential contender did not match the crowd size or attention as the president’s stop, he did have some boasting rights about a new poll that shows Romney ahead of Obama in this critical swing state.

Romney holds a tight lead over Obama in Colorado, according to a recently released Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News poll.

"Guess what's going to welcome President Obama to Colorado as he lands here this morning? Some new poll numbers out ... showing that Mitt Romney is ahead by five points in Colorado," Portman said during the day's first stop at a gas station in Johnston, Colo. "So look, they've outspent us but they cannot outwork us, right?"

Although the Buckeye State senator has remained mum on whether he wants or plans to join the national ticket, his schedule of late has been as busy as what one might expect from a national candidate. He raised more than $500,000 for Romney in his home state of Ohio during fundraisers on Monday and Tuesday, a dollar amount he today said was a "lowball" estimate. And, with the presumptive nominee's deep bench of surrogates, it was Portman who got the call to bracket the president in the important swing state.

But also on display during the senator's trip here was how unknown he is. At Johnson's Corner truck stop, onlookers eating breakfast or filling up on gas saw the large bus emblazoned with Romney's name and wanted to know if the candidate was onboard. When told it was Portman, several admitted they were unfamiliar with the name.

Portman’s trip was half bracketing and half rallying the troops on his own side of the aisle. Portman visited three Romney Victory Centers where he made phone calls and greeted volunteers and staffers. He used his experience as a politician in a swing state to motivate the grassroots effort. He told a gathering of Romney supporters in Jefferson County that their work could determine the outcome of the election, and with it, the fate of the country.

"As goes JeffCo, so goes Colorado. As goes Colorado, so goes the nation," Portman said.

COLUMBUS, OH -- Even though he is not yet on the Republican presidential ticket, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman already feels the burden of delivering his home state for presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

"I already feel the pressure," Portman said when asked whether he felt he would be responsible for ensuring the Buckeye State is red this November if chosen as Romney's running mate. "I'm chairing the effort here in Ohio and again I'm feeling good about things because there is a just a lot of volunteers who are stepping forward. I haven't seen energy like this in past elections, presidential or otherwise... My focus is going to be Ohio. And I do believe that this year, Ohio could make the difference again."

The freshman Ohio senator was on hand at Romney's Ohio headquarters to mark the 1 millionth voter contact in the state. He made calls and spoke to volunteers who he believes will make the difference in this close battleground state.

"We're not a red state, we're not a blue state. We're a purple state. Ohio is a classic swing state. And I think at the end of the day, the difference is going to be grassroots," he said, later adding, "The leader of the free world is really determined by our state."

Portman is considered by many to be a leading contender for Republican vice presidential nominee. One reason is the presidential importance of his home state. Ohio GOP chairman Bob Bennett was quoted last week saying the senator would give Romney three to five points in the state if he were to join the ticket.
 
Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Portman said, "I don't know. What I do know is I'm going to work my heart out for him and help him, you know, and I'm going to be chairing the campaign here in Ohio."

While addressing volunteers, Portman picked up on Republicans' most recent attacks on President Barack Obama's recent "you didn't build that" comment. Portman said he has read the speech transcript three times, and does not think the president's words have been taken out of context.

"I've heard the media push back on that and some of them have questioned me and said 'Boy, it was taken out of context.' So today on the ride up from Cincinnati I looked at the speech again. I've now looked at it three time," he said. "And not only do I believe the president was speaking the truth and it's kind of a -- I think -- a view into his soul and his thinking."

"What the president was saying to these businesses is: 'You know what? You need to pay higher taxes because you didn't build it.' "

Portman will head to neighboring Pennsylvania on Monday to stump for Romney.

CINCINNATI, OH -- Sen. Rob Portman on Saturday defended presumptive nominee Mitt Romney against negative ads running in his home state of Ohio, saying the misleading attacks show that President Barack Obama "does not have a record to run on."

Portman, believed to be on the shortlist of candidates under consideration to be the Republican vice presidential pick, borrowed the script from a recently released Romney ad that uses the president's own words as proof of campaign hypocrisy.

Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio

"I think he's running a campaign with -- stick with me here -- no fresh ideas, and when you have a campaign with no fresh ideas, you use stale tactics to scare voters," Portman said of Obama. "If you have no record to run on, you paint your opponent as someone to run from. Guess who I just quoted?  Barack Obama from four years ago."

The lines are from Obama's 2008 Democratic convention speech, and Portman said that this time around, it is the president who is guilty of exactly what he accused Republicans during his first presidential campaign. The Ohio senator said fact checkers have proved that attacks on Romney for outsourcing jobs as the chief executive of Bain Capital are "not true" and continuing the attacks "tells me that he's running the kind of campaign that someone would run who does not have a record to run on."

Portman was on hand to help open a new Romney Victory office here near his home in southwestern Ohio. It is just the latest of a series of ways he has helped as a surrogate for the campaign during the past year.

Along with rebutting the accuracy of the outsourcing ads, Portman also defended Romney over questions about his openness as a presidential candidate. This week new reports surfaced that bring into question when exactly Romney ended his time as the head of Bain, and his opponents on the left have hammered the former Massachusetts governor over speculation about Swiss bank accounts and investments in the Cayman Islands.

The Buckeye State senator told NBC News after the ribbon cutting ceremony that he believes Romney has been "very transparent," and suggested that more transparency will give the Obama campaign more opportunities for misleading attacks.

Not only has he allowed his tax returns to be public, but he's also happy to talk about any of this stuff in terms of Bain," Portman said of Romney. "What's happening is that as more and more facts come out and as there is more transparency on Bain, it becomes clearer and clearer in terms of what the Obama campaign is doing is misleading at best ... so transparency is a good idea, but the issue right now is that the Obama campaign continues to run ads that aren't true."

Asked how many years’ worth of tax returns Portman released to the Romney campaign for his vice presidential vetting, he simply laughed.  Portman has been mum on the issue, and despite some in the small and crowded room discussing the chances that the man they heard today could soon take on a different role, Portman gave no hints of his political future.