Romney assails Obama during Ohio battleground campaign stop

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally Saturday in Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI -- Mitt Romney erupted out of his party's convention and landed in Ohio hoping to gain ground with the battleground state's voters using much the same message he offered in Tampa -- promises to create millions of jobs, make better use the nation's fossil fuels, improve schools, and open more trade options.

"America is going to come roaring back," the Republican presidential nominee declared today before hundreds of screaming supporters here.

After accepting the GOP presidential nomination in a national convention finale, Mr. Romney left Tampa, made a quick campaign stop in Lakeland, Fla., and then visited Louisiana to tour damage from Hurricane Isaac before flying to Ohio on Friday night.

Throngs of people lined up for hours to see Mr. Romney at the historic Union Terminal in Cincinnati, which has been the chosen venue for other politicians. Joe Biden spoke there in 2008 during a campaign stop, and John Kerry did the same in 2004.

Mr. Romney hammered at President Barack Obama's record the past four years, accusing him of breaking promises he made during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The president failed to create jobs, he said.

A list of speakers preceded Mr. Romney, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, and Senate candidate Josh Mandel.

Steve Kleykamp, of Mason, Ohio, may have been the only undecided voter in the house today. The nonfiction novelist came to Union Terminal still trying to decide who would be the best president in the next term.

"I voted for Obama last time and I still kind of like him but some people think he is too socialist in his policies and that is the direction he is taking us," Mr. Kleykamp said. "I am interested in what Romney can do for the economy. ... A president can hinder business as much as he can help."

Event attendee Ann Weatherington, of Cincinnatti, proclaimed herself a die hard Romney supporter.

"He is here to help us -- to make America better again," she said. "Obama had four years and did nothing top create jobs, and instead he was making Obamacare, which costs us with insurance already, lots more."

President Obama travels to Toledo on Sunday night ahead of campaign stops on Labor Day.

The Obama campaign responded swiftly to Mr. Romney's Cincinnati appearance.

"Today, Mitt Romney will be in Cincinnati, straight after his so-called 'convention reinvention' in Tampa," a statement from the Obama campaign said. "But no gauzy platitudes can change the fact that Romney’s would devastate middle class Ohioans. At Union Terminal, will Romney answer these questions? How does he expect Cincinnati seniors to pay more than $6,000 more per year under his plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program? How would his plan to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the middle class create jobs?"