Obama accused of ‘jealousy and anger’

In a close and increasingly acrimonious race, Mr Romney went on national television to say he thinks Mr Obama is “running just to hang onto power, and I think he would do anything in his power”.

He was interviewed on CBS This Morning from the battleground state of Ohio, one of less than 10 key states that will help decide the November election.

The race, in which Mr Obama holds a slim lead according to recent polls, has seen more heated exchanges since Mr Romney announced his vice presidential running mate, hardline conservative Paul Ryan. The choice has seemed to energise both campaign crowds and the Republican Party’s base, which has been wary of Mr Romney’s more moderate positions in the past as Massachusetts governor.

Even before Mr Ryan was named, independent groups supporting the respective campaigns had been running increasingly provocative TV ads.

On Tuesday, vice president Joe Biden told a mostly black audience in Virginia that Republicans seeking to deregulate the financial industry wanted to “unchain Wall Street.”

He went on to say, “They’re going to put y’all back in chains”

He later said he had meant to use the term “unshackled.” But he did not apologise, and he mocked the Romney campaign for showing outrage at his remark.

Mr Obama’s campaign was launching state-specific efforts to target elements of Mr Ryan’s austere budget proposals, including an overhaul of the federal health insurance program for older Americans, or Medicare.

Mr Romney and Mr Ryan make clear they plan to campaign aggressively on Medicare and Mr Obama’s efforts to reform health care.