Ari Shapiro

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For Mitt Romney, this moment is a peak in a campaign that has had more than its fair share of valleys. During the Republican primary campaign, Romney suffered a number of close calls as the nomination and the presidency seemed about to slip through his fingers. The most recent of those close calls came just two weeks ago in Denver when Romney lagged far behind President Obama going into that first debate.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. It's a time-honored tradition in presidential campaigns to debate after the debate. Both sides are still squabbling now over who won this week's vice presidential faceoff. And on the campaign trail yesterday, the running mates themselves were out spinning for their side. NPR's Ari Shapiro has this round-up of the day on the trail.

One day after Congressman Paul Ryan debated Vice President Joe Biden, Mitt Romney took to the campaign trail in Virginia and Ohio.

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This week in Iowa, the Des Moines Register asked Mitt Romney about abortion. Romney replied: There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda.

Democrats immediately noted that during the Republican primary campaign Romney actually wrote an article headlined, "My Pro-Life Pledge" that promised specific legislation. Much of his political base is pro-life and his campaign quickly clarified that Romney remains proudly pro-life and would support pro-life legislation.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in Iowa and Ohio Tuesday, as a wave of new polls suggested Romney's strong debate performance last week paid off. Swing states that recently seemed far out of his reach now look like a virtual tie in polls, or even leaning in the Republican's direction.

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On a Tuesday, it's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm Renee Montagne.

Just about every poll since last week's presidential debate shows that Mitt Romney has made the race very close. A Pew survey showed Romney tied with President Obama among registered voters, and leading by four points among likely voters.

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. Later this month, President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet for a debate focused exclusively on foreign policy, but the Republican is not waiting until then to confront the issue. Today, in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney attacked the Obama administration's policies, especially in the Middle East.

MITT ROMNEY: It's clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office.

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ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: I'm Ari Shapiro, traveling with the Romney campaign. The Republican presidential nominee had been chugging along on momentum from Wednesday's debate performance when this morning's unemployment numbers changed the story. At a rally near Virginia's border with Tennessee, that did not faze voters like Nancy Lemieux(ph). She says the statistics are bogus.

NANCY LEMIEUX: Because they twist the numbers to suit the politicians and right now, it's Obama's cronies. So I don't believe anything I hear on TV.

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This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

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And I'm Steve Inskeep.

For the first time since the start of 2009, the nation's unemployment rate is below 8 percent. Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the number at 7.8 percent in September.

MONTAGNE: Employers added 114,000 new jobs overall. The government also revised the job estimates for July and August, reporting that more jobs were created than previously known, and putting a different cast on the entire summer.

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This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

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Let's follow-up now on a story that prompted some debate among our listeners when it first aired. Here's NPR's Ari Shapiro, who stumbled upon this post-script.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: When Mitt Romney spoke to the American Legion Conference in Indianapolis last month, thousands of people from across the country were in the audience. I happened to speak with Bobbie Lussier of Virginia, who said this about President Obama...

During the Republican National Convention last month, I traveled with Mitt Romney's campaign from Tampa, Fla., to the American Legion conference in Indianapolis.

Romney delivered a speech about foreign affairs and national security. Among the thousands of attendees from around the country, I interviewed one woman from Virginia whose quote sparked a conversation among NPR's audience and staff.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney campaigned with veterans in Northern Virginia on Thursday. And like President Obama, he was in territory that voted for the opposite party four years ago.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm David Greene. Renee Montagne is talking with voters in Colorado this morning for our series First and Main.

It is hard to believe but we are finally nearing the end of a presidential campaign that in many ways started back in January 2009.

INSKEEP: Iowa begins early voting today. Other states begin soon, and the presidential candidates are preparing for a final expensive and possibly brutal final act.

Second of a two-part series