Larry Downing / Reuters

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet military personnel and their families as they walk into Anderson Hall base chow hall at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, in Kaneohe Bay, Dec 25.

KANEHOE, HAWAII – President Obama spent part of his last full day in Hawaii participating in an annual tradition for his wife Michelle and him: greeting Marines at the base near his vacation home here.

The president will return to Washington D.C. early Thursday morning, the White House announced, as the Senate returns to session to work on a way forward on avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff.

But his attention was far from tax hikes and spending cuts as he and the first lady slipped around a corner of the Anderson mess hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii to greet military families as they ate an early Christmas dinner.

In short remarks, Obama, dressed casually in a blue button-down shirt and khakis, thanked the service members and their families – mostly Marines, but some Army and Navy as well - for enduring the challenges of military life.

“Not only do those in uniform make sacrifices but I think everybody understands the sacrifices that families make each and every day as well,” he said.

The president also noted that the country is “still in a wartime footing,” even as the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, slated to conclude in 2014, continues.

“Some of you may have loved ones who are deployed there; some of you may be about to be deployed there,” he said. “So we want you to know that it’s not easy. But what we also want you to know is that you have the entire country aligned with you.”

After his remarks, the president and first lady disappeared behind the mess hall walls, where they posed for pictures with troops. 

Des Moines, Iowa — For the final campaign event of the 2012 cycle, President Barack Obama returned to where his bid for presidency began.

At a rally downtown here, against the backdrop of the capital, the president and first lady Michelle Obama took the crowd back four years ago, when they were campaigning at the state fair and celebrating the birthday of one of their daughters.

“Tomorrow we get the chance to finish what we started in Iowa,” the first lady said before introducing her husband.

Talking about those early days in Iowa, the president appeared emotional as he started by thanking the volunteers gathered.

"All of you who have lived and breathed the hard work of change, I want to thank you," Obama said.

To the others, he evoked popular lines from his 2008 stump speech.

"When the cynics said we couldn't, you said yes we can – you said yes, we can, and we did. Against all odds and we did," he said. But, he added, “We're not done yet on this journey."

About 20,000 people filled the streets downtown with signs that read “Forward!” They cheered when the president challenged them to fight with him.

"I've got a lot more fight left in me,” he said. “But to wage that fight on behalf of American families, I need you to still have some fight in you too.”

Jason Reed / Reuters

Tears were visible on President Obama's cheek during his final presidential campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.

His mentions of 2008 also served as a reminder that even at larger rallies, the president’s campaign does not have the same energy as his first. The president seemed to acknowledge that as well when he said, “We’ve come too far to let our hearts grow faint.”

He also told a story he recounted during the 2008 campaign, which on Monday night took on new meaning.  

The story was about Edith Childs, the South Carolinian who brought the “Fired up, Ready to Go” chant to his campaign.

This time, the story had a new twist. The Obama campaign had offered to fly Childs to Des Moines for Obama’s last event of the 2012 campaign.

But she refused, the president said, because she didn’t have time. She was organizing people to knock on doors – she thought he still had a chance to win North Carolina.  

Concluding the story – and his campaign – Obama said, “And that shows you what one voice can do.”

GOP candidate Mitt Romney has added last-minute events on Tuesday, Election Day, but for Obama, the election has wrapped up.

He flies to Chicago on Tuesday and will spend the day playing basketball – which tomorrow becomes an Election Day tradition – with staff and friends, including his former bodyman Reggie Love, who made an appearance on the trail Monday as well.

"It’s out of my hands now,” Obama said. “It’s in yours. All of it depends on what you do.”

Slideshow: Election 2012

Reuters, Getty Images

Campaigning with Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, voting and election results.

Launch slideshow

ORLANDO, Fla. – Declaring "we are going to get this done," an emotional Michelle Obama rallied a central Florida crowd Monday night, telling supporters on the eve of the election that it's "all on the line" Tuesday. 

 "Your president is nowhere near satisfied," she said, making the pitch for a second term for her husband, President Barack Obama. 

The first lady has maintained a busy schedule visiting key swing states since the Democrats' national convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September.

Here in an Orlando park, she made her final solo campaign appearance of the 2012 cycle.

"Together, slowly but surely, we have been pulling ourselves out of that hole that we started in," Obama said, casting her husband's first term in office as a difficult but productive road to economic recovery.

Though she didn't mention Republican nominee Mitt Romney, she warned against moving backward, touting her husband's overhaul of the health care system and regulation of the financial industry.

The campaign estimated the crowd at 2,600. The decision to hold the first lady's final rally here in Central Florida is no doubt tied to the campaign's strategy to win the state's 29 electoral votes.

Both the Obama and Romney campaigns have poured tens of millions into advertising in the Sunshine State, hoping to win the so-called "I-4 corridor," a key part of the Florida puzzle.

Obama was joined on stage Monday by Sen. Bill Nelson and Puerto Rican-born performer Ricky Martin.

Nelson, who is leading in polls against his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, made a pitch for support in Spanish.

Almost 4.5 million people in Florida have already cast ballots, taking advantage of early and absentee voting opportunities here. The latest data from the Florida Secretary of State's office shows that Democrats have cast 1,915,630 votes – giving them a lead against Republicans, who have cast 1,747,977 votes.

But Michelle Obama warned that the president needs every vote he can get.

"Don't let anybody push you out of line," the first lady said, telling those who haven't voted yet to get to the polls early. "Don't let any delays deter you."

Michelle Obama was scheduled to appear later Monday with her husband in Des Moines, Iowa.

DENVER, Colo. – President Barack Obama is going to vote for someone tomorrow, but he won’t say for whom.

Speaking to a crowd of 16,000 in a Denver park, the president sought to lead by example by saying he would vote early in Chicago on Thursday.

“I can’t tell you who I’m voting for,” he said. “It’s a secret ballot. But Michelle says she voted for me.”

“We can vote early in Illinois, just like you can vote early in Colorado,” the president continued, driving home the importance of early voting to the Obama campaign, which is relying heavily on getting people to the polls before Election Day.

Earlier today senior White House adviser David Plouffe underscored the importance of early voting in swing states like Colorado, saying that through early vote figures, “you begin to make some assumptions about the electorate that’s going to materialize.”

Slideshow: On the Trail

To date, 37 percent of early Colorado voters are registered with the Democratic Party. Thirty-nine percent are registered with the Republican Party and 23 percent are registered with unaffiliated parties. (The rest are registered with other parties.)

But because those unaffiliated voters do not have to pick a party, it is difficult to get a precise read on which presidential candidate is getting the most early votes.

After the Denver event, the president headed to Los Angeles, Calif. to tape a segment for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Later Wednesday he was slated to attend a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nev.

Gregory Shaver / AP

About 2,500 people gathered to see First lady Michelle Obama speak Friday during a campaign event at Memorial Hall in Racine, Wis.

RACINE, WI -- Days before early voting begins here in Wisconsin, first lady Michelle Obama told an audience of several thousand people Friday to get to the polls ahead of election day, declaring that the work of her husband, President Barack Obama, is "all on the line."

"Early voting starts here in Wisconsin on Monday," Obama said, before explaining that new or unregistered voters could register on the spot at polling locations.

It was the latest plea from the first lady to vote early, delivered in yet another state that will open its polls in advance of November 6th.

In late September, on the second day polls were open in Iowa, Obama urged students at the University of Northern Iowa to visit a so-called satellite polling station the campaign had opened on campus for that day only. 

And Monday, Obama told college students in Cleveland to vote early in Ohio -- declaring she had that day voted by mail in Illinois. 

Early voting will be available this election cycle in a total of 32 states and the District of Columbia.

The Obama campaign hopes that by encouraging early commitments, it can create early gains even as it pushes a message on the economy that dismisses snap judgment and calls for patience.

Here in Racine County, a Democratic area south of Milwaukee, Obama told voters that while "we still have a long way to go to completely rebuild our economy," there are signs "every day" that things are looking up. 

"The stock market has doubled.  Exports have grown by 45-percent.  Manufacturers have added 500-thousand jobs," Obama said.  "Do you hear me?" she added, growing animated.

The first lady's visit comes as an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll shows the president leading Republican nominee Mitt Romney by six points among likely voters, 51 to 45 percent.

But it also comes days after a testy debate on Long Island, N.Y., in which Romney argued that improvements to the economy haven't come fast enough.

The first lady's message Friday seemed in part a response. 

"Real change is hard and it requires patience and tenacity," she said, adding later, "You see your president? How calm he is? How forward thinking he is? That is a lesson for all of our young people."

Earlier, Obama said that listening to her husband "talk about his values" during Tuesday's debate "makes me fired up and ready to go, too."

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a campaign rally at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio on Monday.

CLEVELAND, OH – Shortly after casting her ballot for her husband, first lady Michelle Obama visited Ohio to encourage voters in this critical swing state to follow her lead and vote for the president before Election Day.

"I'm feeling pretty fired up and ready to go, because this morning, let me tell you what I did – I cast my ballot for Barack Obama," the first lady told a cheering crowd at Cuyahoga Community College. "It felt so good. Right now my absentee ballot is on its way to my hometown, Chicago. That means we are one vote closer to re-electing my husband."

Before taking off for Ohio on Monday, Obama tweeted that she had just dropped her absentee ballot in the mail, and President Obama followed shortly with a tweet announcing that he would be voting on October 25. He'll vote in person in Chicago, giving cameras a chance to get a photo-op of him casting his ballot, even though it will be nearly two weeks before most of the rest of the country votes.

Michelle Obama has been one of the campaign's chief advocates for mobilizing the Democratic base to vote early. Her campaign schedule has often been crafted to put her in swing states when early voting begins. Rallies – like an earlier event in Delaware, OH – end with transportation to a polling place. Like her husband, Michelle Obama has gotten to know Ohio well.

She was here on Oct. 2 when early voting began. After a rally in downtown Cincinnati, volunteers directed many of the 6,000 attendees to the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

On the stump, she calls early voting the campaign's "secret weapon."

From here, Michelle Obama heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. on Tuesday and to Wisconsin on Friday, both states that begin early voting this week.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Obama for America spokesperson Jen Psaki said they had a "superior" early voting effort compared with Mitt Romney's campaign. While both campaigns have pushed to bank votes before Nov. 6, Democrats have been most aggressive. In 2008, those who cast ballots before Election Day heavily favored Barack Obama.

"We want you all to vote early. We want you to think about voting early, whether it’s by mail, or in person, vote early,” she said. “Because if you vote early, then you can spend your time on election day getting everyone that you know out to vote."

Slideshow: Twin sons of different parties

From tramping through cornfields to munching ice cream cones to holding babies – the time-honored traditions of the campaign trail leave President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney looking surprisingly alike.

Launch slideshow

Al Behrman / AP

First lady Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters on Tuesday in Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI, OH – A marching band took to the streets of downtown here Tuesday, leading the crowd to a destination not usually associated with much fanfare: the voting booth.

On the opening day of early voting in the Buckeye State, first lady Michelle Obama rallied 6,800 supporters at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati.

"Here in Ohio, it is already election day," she said, flanked by a large banner that read “Cincinnati fired up! Ready to vote!”

The first lady encouraged the large and boisterous crowd to make the short walk directly from the rally to the Hamilton County Board of Elections where they could become some of the first Americans to cast their ballots for President Barack Obama's re-election. The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the president maintaining a slight lead nationally over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, and a recent polls show that lead is even bigger in Ohio.

Even with the positive polls, Michelle Obama warned supporters that a second term for her husband is far from certain, which is why they need to start voting.

"Thirty-five days is a long, long time in an election. No one should be comfortable," she said. She later added: "I'm going to be honest with you, this journey is going to be hard, let’s count on that. And there are going to be plenty of ups and downs for the rest of the way."

Michelle Obama warned the crowd of apathy, recalling how narrowly her husband won the battleground state of Ohio four years ago.

"Back in 2008, back then we won Ohio by about 262,000 votes," she said. "Now that might sound like a lot, but when you break that number down, and you spread it across all the precincts, that is just

24 votes per precinct ... That could mean just a couple of votes in your neighborhood or your block."

Obama won here in Hamilton County in 2008, a traditionally Republican county that turned blue that year for the first time since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  If Obama is able to repeat his success in the state's southwest corner, the path for a Republican to win the state becomes incredibly difficult.

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.

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In 2008, an estimated 30 percent of voters cast ballots early. The Democratic National Committee and the president's campaign have tried to capitalize on getting as many votes as possible before November. The "Gotta Vote" bus tour kicked off in Iowa to encourage early voting in the Hawkeye State and will continue the tour through Ohio on Wednesday – meaning some Americans will decide with more than a month left in the campaign and before the first presidential debate.

The Romney campaign countered with its own get-out-the-vote effort on Tuesday, kicking off the “Commit to Mitt Early Vote Express” tour around Ohio. In light of polls showing Romney losing this critical swing state, the campaign released a memo from Ohio State Director Scott Jennings arguing the race here remains a dead heat.

"Bottom line – the race in Ohio is close, undecided voters are extremely unhappy with Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney’s campaign has built a ground game that is at the very least matching Obama’s while surpassing all previous Republican efforts when it comes to knocking on doors and contacting voters face-to-face," Jennings wrote.