Candidates race against time

>>> reads of the morning. 33 hours until the first polls close. the last 4 hours, though, the two campaigns held 14 events in eight states, six in hiohio alone. it's a race against the clock.

>> welcome.

>> back in 2008 i spent a lot of time here in new hampshire.

>> the great state of ohio , thank you so much.

>> florida, we know what changes.

>> your help, pennsylvania --

>> i need you, ohio .

>> virginia is the best.

>> turn out for me, colorado. we will win this state.

>> as the candidates barnstorm the battleground states , new polls show the president may have caught an 1th hour break with voters in this deadlocked race may be moving ever so slightly in his direction. our new nbc news/"the wall street journal " poll the president does lead 48% to 47% among likely voters. a look at other national polls confirm it's razor tight, maybe even a mirror image of the 2004 showdown between president bush and senator john kerry . we see some movement towards the president. obama leads by seven points, almost four in ten. and he leads by four points in the battleground states , again, though, within the margin of error. the president is holding on to an eight-point advantage among women and that's slightly higher than romney 's edge among men. the president's job rating sits at 49%. take a look at these numbers. 67% of likely voters approve of his handling of hurricane sandy. haven't seen numbers like that for this president on a single event, of course, going back to bin laden . and we may be seeing a sandy effect in other numbers. when voters are asked which candidate has better leadership qualities, the president -- more now pick the president. two weeks ago mitt romney led in that question, 44% to 40%. this doesn't mean romney doesn't have some things going for him. he's winning independents, the group the president won in 2008 . romney leads them now by seven points. and romney leads by five points when voters are asked which candidate is better prepped to create jobs and improve the economy. still, the president continues to have a double digit lead on which candidate will do better at looking 0 out for the middle class . obama leads by 11 points on that economic values question, if you will. so where does this race stand? the best gauge may be the candidate's schedules. the president spends his final day defending that midwestern firewall. he'll be in madison, wisconsin, this morning. columbus, ohio , this afternoon. he ends his campaign in des moines , iowa, tonight where he gets joined by the first lady. mitt romney 's final day also is about the narrow path he's trying to get to 270. it's florida, then virginia and new hampshire, states he needs along with either ohio and pennsylvania to get to that magic number of 270. the two campaigns both believe the fundamentals are in place for victory.

>> for governor romney to win states like ohio , iowa, north carolina , he's going to have to carry election day by a huge mar margin.

>> there's an intensity factor on the side of the republicans. there's a significant gap. we see it on the ground. we see it when people are knocking on the doors.

>> both men are laying out their closing arguments. the final rallies in 2008 drew crowds of 60,000 and 80,000. last night in aurora, colorado, it was 20,000 supporters who heard the president argue this election is ultimately about character.

>> part of a presidential race is about policy. but part of it's about trust. you may be frustrated sometimes by the pace of change. guess what? so am i. but you know what i believe. you know where i stand. you know i tell the truth.

>> the obama campaign is counting on victory by piecing together a demographic puzzle. and in his final appeal the president carefully targets each of those groups he needs to do it.

>> the autoworker who thought he'd never be back on that assembly line . the young immigrant brought here when they were a child, saying pledge of allegiance to our flag. we don't think politicians should be controlling health care choices women are perfectly capable of making themselves?

>> will they turn out? the campaign is now effectively over.

>> we looked at each other and said, you know what, we're no longer relevant now. we're props. because what's happened is now the campaign falls on these 25 year year kids.

>> governor romney also knows that his five-year effort to win the presidency may end tomorrow night at the boston convention center . you can see some of the exhaustion show. romney 's demeanor hinting at anything? that he somehow thinks he might not get there?

>> you're tired of being tired. not just tonight but all the time.

>> people overreading body language a little bit. after reports ann romney appeared exhausted at a series. one of mrs. romney 's aides wanted to assure nbc news it's about being tired, nothing about her ms acting up. on the trail this in virginia , mitt romney argued that he is the changed candidate this year.

>> instead of bridging the divide, he's made it wider.

>> if the president were to be re-elected, he would -- it's possible but not likely. if he were to be re-elected, he would be able to work with president in congress.

>> the bitterness between the two campaigns is palpable. there are signs that governing will be a huge challenge for the winner. protesters interrupted the president's rally in ohio and at every stop romney seized on this recent comment from the president.

>> don't boo, vote. vote. voting's the best revenge .

>> president obama asked his supporters to vote for revenge. for revenge? i ask people to vote instead for love of country.

>> and republican slammed former president bill clinton for these comments on the military.

>> look at how much stronger the american military is because it is less racist, less sexist, less homophobic and we just look at who is doing the job.

>> mitt romney argues he can bridge the divide by working with good democrats. the great challenge will be governing in this polarized climate we will wake up to on wednesday morning or maybe thursday morning or maybe it's friday morning.