Barack Obama, Presidential Debate | featured news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden and Republican rival Paul Ryan sought votes in political battleground states on Saturday while their running mates took a day off the campaign trail ahead of a potentially make-or-break debate next week.

Barack Obama is cruising into the presidential debates with momentum on his side, yet he's still struggling to revive the passion and excitement that propelled him to the White House. Mitt Romney is grasping for his last, best chance to reboot his campaign after a disastrous September.

A month before the closing arguments of a campaign traditionally would be made, a steady stream of voters walked into election offices across Iowa on Thursday to cast their ballots.

With just 46 days to go, the presidential race has entered the hammer-and-tongs phase. From here on, it’s a day-to-day messaging war, with President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney taking dramatically different views on how the fall campaign conversation should be framed.

On long flights to swing states in the West and late nights at the White House after his children have gone to bed, President Barack Obama is cramming like a student for a test that could determine his political future.

President Barack Obama is swiping at Texas Gov. Rick Perry, criticizing him as "a governor whose state is on fire, denying climate change."