Obama takes campaign break for birthday

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama celebrated his 51st birthday Saturdaywith a round of golf and a quiet weekend at Camp David, taking a break from campaigning three months before Election Day.

Obama, wearing a white golf shirt, khaki pants and sunglasses, boarded Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base after about six hours on the golf course. He was joined by a group of friends that included White House chef Sam Kass, a frequent golf partner.

He returns to campaign mode soon enough, with fundraisers in Connecticut on Mondayand campaign rallies in Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney attacked what he called "an extraordinary series of policy failures" from Obama, but said yesterday that America is "poised to take off economically." The Republican presidential contender met with Indiana voters, seizing on the latest jobs report as evidence that his Democratic opponent's economic policies aren't working.

Obama narrowly won Indiana four years ago, becoming the first Democrat to carry the state in more than 40 years. But recent polls suggest that Romney has the edge with Election Day three months away.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the American economy added 163,000 jobs in July, the best pace of hiring in five months. The jobless rate ticked up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 in June.

"These are real families having real hard times," Romney told dozens of supporters gathered in Stepto's BBQ Shack in Evansville. "This has been an extraordinary series of policy failures on behalf of the president."

Next weekend, Obama will hold several birthday-themed fundraisers in Chicago, including one at his family's South Side home. Obama's campaign used the event to drum up small-dollar donations before the end of the July fundraising deadline, offering two lucky winners the chance to attend the fundraiser at Obama's red brick home.

Obama's campaign released a new television ad Saturdaythat targets Romney's opposition to abortion rights and funding for Planned Parenthood.

Women in the ad describe Romney as extreme and out of touch. One woman suggests that the Republican wants to return to the laws of the 1950s.

The new ad will air in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada. The Romney campaign, meanwhile, dismissed the ad as a distraction.

"One day after the unemployment rate increased and we reached 42 consecutive months with a jobless rate greater than 8 percent, it is not surprising that the Obama campaign would release a false ad in an attempt to distract from the effects of the president's failed policies," said Romney spokesman Andrea Saul.

-- AP