Obama to Iowa: Let's finish what we started

DES MOINES -- President Obama wrapped up his re-election bid Monday night - "his last campaign" - in the state that launched his presidential drive more than four years ago, asking voters in Iowa and across the nation to send him back to the White House for a second term.

Speaking at the downtown street corner where his 2008 campaign office was set up, Obama told some 20,000 Iowa residents: "This is where our movement for change began - right here."

Obama, whose win in the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucuses propelled him to the presidency, said the economy has improved and the world has become more peaceful on his watch, and told the crowd: "We're not done yet on this journey."

At times wistful, at times emotional, Obama teared up at one point. He later said: "We cannot give up change now."

First lady Michelle Obama, in introducing her husband, noted that this was her husband's last campaign rally as a candidate.

"This is a pretty emotional event for us," Mrs. Obama said, adding that on Tuesday "we've got a chance to finish what we started here in Iowa."

The late night appearance in downtown Des Moines, just down the street from the Capitol Building, capped an election eve swing through three Midwestern states that could decide his race with Mitt Romney: Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa.

Singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen accompanied Obama throughout the day, singing some of his greatest hits and urging Democrats to crank out the vote on Tuesday.

After the Des Moines appearance, Obama boarded Air Force One for a flight to his home in Chicago, where he will spend Tuesday.

During an early morning appearance in Madison, Wis., in the shadow of its state Capitol, Obama told some 18,000 supporters: "We have come too far to turn back now ... Now is the time to keep pushing forward."

From downtown Madison, where residents began gathering in the early morning hours to hear the president as well as Springsteen, Obama traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for a rally in the city's hockey arena. That event featured both Springsteen, the New Jersey rocker known as "The Boss,' as well as Brooklyn-bred rapper Jay-Z.

Noting that it's "the last day I'll ever campaign," Obama told supporters in Columbus that traveling with Springsteen is "not a bad way to bring it home ... with The Boss, with The Boss."

As Obama stumped, his aides exuded confidence about Tuesday's result, predicting a sweep of Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa as well as other battleground states, clearing the necessary 270 electoral votes to claim a second term.

"We see many paths to 270," said Obama senior adviser David Axelrod. "All those pathways are intact today."

Romney also campaigned Monday in Ohio as well as Florida, Virginia and New Hampshire.

While Wisconsin has been a Democratic state in recent presidential elections, Obama is trying to fend off a late charge by Romney and running mate Paul Ryan, a Badger State native.

Both sides see Ohio as a key state. Many Obama aides believe that victory in Ohio would be fatal to Romney's candidacy; no Republican has won the presidency without carrying Ohio.

After the Wisconsin and Ohio stops, Obama capped his campaign day and year with a sentimental journey to Iowa.

His 2008 win there over Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards established him as a formidable national candidate. He rode that momentum all the way to the White House, where he fashioned a record that will be put to the test on Tuesday.

On Monday, the president told Des Moines residents: "I've come back to Iowa one more time to ask for your vote."

USA Today