NORFOLK ? President Barack Obama whipped up a young audience at Norfolk State University, a stop reminiscent of the type of fervent crowd that came to define his 2008 run.
In his last campaign speech before his address at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Obama reminded the crowd of Virginia's electoral importance and criticized his GOP opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for being light on details when it comes to the economy and the ongoing war effort in Afghanistan.
"When my opponent had a chance to offer his secret sauce, he could not offer a single new idea, it was just retreads of the same old policies that have been sticking it to the middle class for years," he said knocking Romney's speech last week to the Republican National Convention in Florida.
He also criticized his opponent for not mentioning Afghanistan at the convention.
"I have said we'll end this war in 2014," he said. "Gov. Romney last week didn't have a word to say about Afghanistan."
The Romney campaign has already countered that he mentioned the war effort in a speech he gave earlier last week at the American Legion in Indianapolis, in which Romney also criticized the president for potential cuts to defense spending.
Obama's speech marked his twelfth visit to Virginia this year, and his second campaign stop in Hampton Roads this summer. Both Obama's and Romney's campaigns have targeted Virginia, where polls show the candidates running close.
Obama visited the Phoebus section of Hampton on July 13, and Romney introduced Ryan as his running mate in Norfolk on Aug. 12, with the USS Wisconsin as a backdrop.
The Romney campaign responded to Obama's most recent visit and speech by tweaking him on defense spending, and criticizing him as obstructing possible energy opportunities in Virginia.
"Whether it's the president's devastating defense cuts, opposition to bipartisan proposals for offshore drilling in the Commonwealth, his war on coal, or job-destroying policies, President Obama has found himself on the wrong side of the issues Virginians care about the most," said Romney campaign spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger in an emailed statement.
"There is no doubt," Brandenburger continued, "that Americans aren't better off than they were four years ago. Mitt Romney has a plan for a stronger middle class that will fix the economy, create 12 million jobs, and get us back on the right track."
Re-tapping campus energy
In the lead up to the Charlotte convention, Obama has visited college towns of Charlottesville, Boulder, Colo., and Ames, Iowa.
The crowd counts from those events haven't matched the size of similar events during Obama's presidential run in 2008.
Norfolk's audience was estimated at more than 11,000 by the Norfolk Fire Marshal's office.
Students chanted "four more years," and waved smart phones over their heads trying to snap a picture of the president as he took the stage.
Near the end of his speech he made a direct appeal to the college-age attendees in the crowd.
"We've got a lot more young people to send to college, we've got more teachers we've gotta hire, and more middle schools we've got to build," he said.
"We've got more doors of opportunity we need to open up."
Trying not to steal the show
Obama was careful not to steal the thunder from Tuesday night convention speakers, that will include San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and first lady Michelle Obama.
His 19 minute, 17 second speech largely to kept to familiar themes.
And he noted, he did not want to upstage his wife.
Likening their dual addresses to a relay race, Obama said his wife, "the star of the Obama family" would bring things home with the pivotal anchor leg.
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