Obama talks economy, Romney health care

Combined wire services

President Barack Obama told campaign donors in a Baltimore suburb that his policies will give middle-income Americans the best chance to succeed in a competitive economy.

Obama accused his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, of promoting a plan focused on cutting funding for national priorities in education, transportation and research.

"You'll never see a sharper contrast between the two parties in the vision that they have for where this country needs to go," Obama told a crowd of Democrats at a private home in Owings Mills, Md., according to Bloomberg News.

Obama was raising more than $3 million yesterday in Maryland and in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, seeking to maintain a cash advantage over Romney. He's holding six fundraisers, three in each state, bringing to 160 the number of events to solicit cash for his campaign since he declared his candidacy for re-election on April 4, 2011.

In 2008, Obama captured Maryland, a reliably Democratic state, with 62 percent of the vote. His victory in Pennsylvania was narrower, at 54 percent, making it one of the targets for Romney.

Romney, meanwhile, anticipating the death of Obama's health care overhaul, outlined his plans to expand coverage to the nation's uninsured, while protecting at least one popular safeguard that would be eliminated should the Supreme Court strike down the law.

Campaigning Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., the former Massachusetts governor promised to help maintain coverage for those with pre-existing health conditions and to expand tax breaks to individuals wishing to purchase health insurance directly, instead of through their employer.

In some cases, his health care proposal entails turning over the problem to individual states.

"It's important for us to make sure that every American has access to good health care," Romney declared.