Republican nominee Mitt Romney chided President Barack Obama on Saturday for calling on Americans to vote for “revenge” as the battle for the White House raced to an ill-tempered climax.

Three days before voters chose between giving Obama a second term or sending him packing back to Chicago, the rivals chased one another through a handful of states that will decide Tuesday’s too-close-to-call election.

Romney was up early in New Hampshire, which has only four of the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the White House but could punch above its weight in a tight finish, accusing Obama of “demonising” political foes.

“I won’t represent just one party, I’ll represent one nation,” Romney told a crowd at an airport rally outside Portsmouth, and warned Obama would find it impossible to work with congressional Republicans if he wins re-election.

Romney also debuted a new political ad today, seizing on Obama’s comment in Ohio yesterday when he told supporters angry at the Republicans not to boo but to vote, saying “voting’s the best revenge”.

The ad featured Romney telling his biggest crowd of the campaign in Ohio also yesterday that Obama “asked his supporters to vote for revenge — for revenge.”

“Instead, I ask the American people to vote for love of country,” Romney said.

While Romney was campaigning, Obama was back in Washington visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as New York and New Jersey struggle to deal with the aftermath of murderous superstorm Sandy.

“We still have a long way to go,” said Obama, stressing he had no time for government “red tape” which could hold up the relief effort, after discussing the crisis with the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.

The Obama campaign enjoys the comparison between Obama doing his job managing the government while Romney campaigns as polls show a majority of Americans approve of the president’s handling of Sandy.

With time running down until the election, Obama soon headed back to the campaign trail, with a long day of campaign stops planned in Ohio, the possible tipping point state before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa.

He will wrap up his day with a late night rally in Virginia, a state where he and Romney are locked in a tight race.

Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which drew at least 18,000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, Romney left New Hampshire for trips to Colorado and Iowa.

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