DUBUQUE, IOWA (Catholic Online) - Both candidates are canvassing Iowa by bus as they trade blows over Medicare benefits and what's best for the country. Romney accuses Obama of proposing to loot Medicare to pay for Obamacare, with Obama counterpointing that Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal would cut Medicare while denying Romney's charges.

Romney has gone on air publicly to condemn the negative tone of the campaign, blaming Obama for taking an increasingly negative tone in attack ads. Some of the ads are being dismissed as outright unfair, such as a now infamous ad wherein Obama supporters all but allege that a woman died of cancer because of Mitt Romney's financial endeavors. 

The Romney camp has referred to the Obama campaign as "unhinged" and "running just to hang on to power."

Romney is also promising, "I'm going to restore that $716 billion to the Medicare trust fund, so that current seniors can know that trust fund is not being raided."

The Romney campaign is also launching a new ad to reach Latino voters, dubbed "No Podemos Mas" (We No Longer Can). Contrasting with Obama's "Yes We Can" ad of 2008, the ad cites high unemployment among Latinos as a reason to ditch the President.

For his part, Obama is making relatively rare campaign appearances in Iowa with his wife Michelle. Obama has criticized Romney for refusing to support a relief bill for drought ravaged farmers, and opposition to alternative energy projects that already employ thousands across the state. 

Yesterday, Romney criticized Obama harshly, and referred to controversial comments made by Vice President Biden at a rally in Virginia that alluded to slavery. Biden told the crowd, that Romney would "put y'all back in chains." 

Romney responded to that by saying, "This is what an angry and desperate presidency looks like. President Obama knows better, promised better, and America deserves better. His campaign strategy is to smash America apart and then try to cobble together 51 percent of the pieces. If an American president wins that way, we all lose."

Romney added, "Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America."

Obama has insisted that Biden's comments were taken out of context and actually referred to comments by Romney about "unfettering" business.

The campaign shows no signs of easing up as America faces a close election in November. While the choice between the candidates appears more clear than ever, the rhetoric will likely become even more harsh as both sides struggle for what they believe are fundamental American values. 

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