Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney vowed that he would campaign more aggressively in battleground states in the final 43 days before the November election.
The comments, made to reporters aboard his campaign plane, suggested Mr Romney was taking to heart criticism from his own party about the amount of time he has spent raising funds versus speaking to voters.
"I think the fundraising season is probably getting a bit quieter. I would rather spend the time in key states," Mr Romney said in his first comments to reporters since Monday.
Mr Romney is about to kick off a week of campaigning in battleground states, starting with Colorado and Ohio.
In 2008, Mr Obama won Colorado by 9 points over Republican John McCain. Before that, the state voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, with the exception of 1992.
He told reporters that Obama's campaign consistently mischaracterises his positions on issues like taxes and abortion, and voters would get a better chance to learn about his positions during debates that begin on October 3rd.
Heavy advertising by Mr Obama has coincided with a slow but noticeable decline in Mr Romney's standing in opinion polls.
Although he is neck-and-neck with Mr Obama in national tracking surveys, polls in specific battleground states like Ohio and Colorado, where advertising has been nonstop, show Mr Obama with a slightly wider lead.
"I don't pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day polls. They change a great deal," Mr Romney said. "And I know that in the coming six weeks, they're very unlikely to stay where they are today."
Last night's event in Denver kicks off a busier week for Mr Romney, who spent much of Friday and Saturday raising money in Nevada and California.
Mr Romney will visit Pueblo, Colorado, today and head to Ohio tomorrow after a brief visit to New York to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative, where Mr Obama will also speak.
His comments on the plane echoed a vow made in an interview broadcast yesterday on the CBS show "60 Minutes."
"I have to go across the country, particularly in the states that are closest and describe how it is I'm going to get the economy going, and how we're going to restore the economic freedom that built this economy in the first place," Mr Romney said.
He defended his campaign as "very effective."
Most of his top aides were in Los Angeles Saturday and yesterday for meetings thought to include debate preparation.
Still, many top Republicans are clamouring for a change in schedule and in tone for Mr Romney.
"I want to see fire in the belly," Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said of Mr Romney on "Fox News Sunday."
He also said he wants the former Massachusetts governor to be "lit up and ready to go."
"You've got to get off the heels and get out and charge forward," Mr Walker said.
Last night at Denver's D'Evelyn High School , a slightly hoarse Mr Romney spoke to a sizeable but subdued crowd, keeping his focus on Mr Obama.
"He's out of ideas, he's out of excuses and we're going to get him out of office," Mr Romney said. "We're taking back America. We're going to win this one."
Asked on "60 Minutes" whether a Romney administration would take aim at popular tax deductions such as mortgage and charitable deductions, which are used by mil lions of middle-income Americans, and how he would balance the budget while still cutting income taxes as suggested, the candidate demurred.
"The devil's in the details. The angel is in the policy, which is creating more jobs."
At the Denver rally, Mr Romney ran through many of the talking points on the economy that he has used for several months, focusing on energy, trade, lower taxes for small business, job training and education.
Reuters