Obama lauds bipartisanship, attacks Romney

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President Obama is back on the campaign trail for the first time since Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast on Monday; Obama has campaign appearances Thursday in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Colorado. President Obama began his post-Sandy re-election campaign Thursday by striking a bipartisan tone before resuming attacks on Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

During an airport rally in Green Bay, Obama first said that the response to Hurricane Sandy showed how Americans can come together: "There are no Democrats and no Republicans in a storm." Obama then said that the U.S. economy is turning around under his leadership, but Romney is advocating the type of "top down" economics that produced a near-depression in 2008. "We know what change looks like," Obama said. "What the governor's offering sure ain't change." Instead, the president touted his own record of change, citing the health care law, new financial regulations, education and research programs, and efforts to reduce the federal debt by raising taxes on the wealthy as well as budget cuts. Wearing a leather jacket in the chilly Wisconsin air, Obama said: "We need a middle class agenda that rewards hard work and responsibility." Romney aides said the middle class are the ones who have suffered the most under Obama's handling of the economy. "We need a new president who actually understands businesses and won't punish them with higher taxes, more regulations, and job-destroying energy policies," said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. "Mitt Romney spent his career in the private sector as a successful businessman, and as president he will promote pro-growth policies that will create jobs, help small businesses, and strengthen the middle class." Making what aides described as a "closing argument" for a second term, with Election Day less than a week away, Obama told backers they "know what I believe" and "where I stand." The president also cited the support of Democratic predecessor Bill Clinton, who has a full schedule of events leading into Tuesday's election. The Green Bay rally kicked off five days of campaigning for the president heading into Tuesday's election. Thursday features a western swing that will take Obama to Las Vegas and Denver. Obama had suspended his campaigning on Monday as Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast, and earned good reviews for his reaction to the damage in New Jersey, New York, and other states. Aides said that, throughout Thursday, Obama will continue to be in communication with emergency management aides and local officials hurt by the storm. Commenting on the storm during his speech in Green Bay, Obama said: "We're awed and humbled by nature's destructive power."