Both rallies went ahead on Saturday under banners reading "Ready to Go".

And Obama tried to duplicate the simple clarity of his previous campaign theme "Hope" with his new rallying cry "Forward".

His foes however dispute the idea that his campaign is powered by a positive stream of hope

In fact, many accuse the president of deliberately dividing Americans with crusades on issues like women's health for naked political gain.

And the Obama camp set the table for his debut swing with negative campaign ads, questioning millionaire Romney over his Swiss bank account and asking whether he would have had the moxie to kill Osama bin Laden.

Obama's hopeful rhetoric also masked a sharp critique of Romney and Republicans.

There are also questions whether Americans are still receptive to Obama's message of hope, after grim years of painful recovery from the deepest recession in decades and with unemployment nationwide at 8.1 percent.

Some 61 percent of those asked in a recent poll by CBS and the New York Times said they believed their country was on the wrong track.

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