Ed Andrieski / AP

Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis speaks at a campaign stop at Walker Manufacturing in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Congressman Paul Ryan had a simple message for those gathered to hear him speak at America the Beautiful Park: A Mitt Romney administration would support America’s military.

“Mitt Romney and I want to be very clear with you. We value and respect your mission here and we believe in and support missile defense, and missile defense is necessary to keep us safe and we will not allow that to go through,” the Republican vice presidential nominee said. “To the soldiers in Fort Carson to the airmen at Peterson and Schriever Air Force Base and to those cadets at the Air Force Academy: We respect you, we appreciate you and we will back you because we need you. We need your support. We need what you do.”

Slideshow: On the campaign trail

Ryan, speaking just down the street from the Air Force Academy, talked about the joy and hope it brings him to appoint students to the various military academies around the country as a seven-term congressman.

“It is one of the greatest experiences because every year I get to sit down and to see these young men and these women and it gives you so much hope that there is such a great future for us because we are still raising such quality people here. I have had such an honor to appoint young men and women to the Air Force Academy here; I still get postcards and pictures and Christmas cards. This is a gem. This is one of the greatest things we do in this country,” he said.

The Wisconsin congressman also hit President Barack Obama for his “devastating defense cuts” to the military, something Ryan has talked about numerous times on the trail but made this very personal appeal for the first time here in the Centennial State.

“Of all the things that Mitt Romney and I differ, disagree with President Obama -- we need a strong military. We believe in peace through strength. We believe that when America’s military is strong, America is safer. This is so critical to our way of life, to our peace, to our security, to our democracy, to our prosperity,” he said during the outdoor rally that drew nearly 1,500 people.

“And these defense cuts that he is promising, these devastating defense cuts that he is promising not only undermine our peace, not only undermine our security, they compromise jobs right here.”

While Ryan campaigned in the battleground state of Colorado, Romney wrapped up a three-day Ohio bus tour with just 41 days before voters head to the polls in November.

The month of October will include debates leading up to the Nov. 6^th election – the first one takes place on Oct. 3 in Denver.

Ryan was asked about Romney’s readiness to “take it to Obama.”

“Absolutely,” Ryan said. “But one little difference between then and now. President Obama has a record and President Obama has a record and a string of broken promises.”

The GOP vice presidential nominee is scheduled to spend the next several days focusing heavily on fundraising. Ryan heads to Tennessee, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York City to raise money through the weekend.

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."

Mary Altaffer / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, left, vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan, and their wives, Ann Romney, second form left, and Janna Ryan, greet supporters Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan went to military country Saturday and promised those serving our country that if elected, they would not cut the military budget.

"Now there’s only one place -- there’s only one place this president’s willing to cut, and not just a little.  He wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military budget," Romney told the crowd to boos. "Look, that’s bad for jobs and it’s bad for our national security. The world is not a safer place right now, not with Iran trying to become nuclear, dangers throughout the world.  If I’m president and Paul Ryan’s vice president we will not cut our military budget."

While Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, continues to campaign against these pending defense cuts, he in fact voted last summer for the Budget Control Act of 2011, resolving the debt-ceiling debate, that included this defense sequester.

Romney and Ryan spoke here in Jacksonville, which has the third-largest naval presence in the country.

"I look around here and I see veterans, I see Air Force, I see Marines, I see Army over there, I see a lot of Navy," Ryan said before the roughly 5,000-person crowd. "Thank you for your service to our country. You make us proud."

The GOP ticket has been trying to reach out to different pockets of the electorate in the past week to try bridging the gap for Romney as he trails President Barack Obama in polls. The GOP nominee’s wife, Ann Romney, held events geared toward both women and Hispanics. Mitt Romney traveled to Indianapolis on Wednesday to address veterans at The American Legion.

The military vote, which according to exit polls went for Republican candidate John McCain 54 percent to 44 percent in 2008, could help Romney defeat Obama this fall.

Romney advisers concede the state of Florida -- which even hosted the Republican National Convention this year -- is all but essential for a Republican victory on Nov. 6.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is in our hands, it is in your hands. Florida, Floridians, you have a major say so, you have a big responsibility and a big opportunity," Ryan said, speaking at The Landing on a very hot day. "If Florida goes the right way, America goes the right way."