Romney vows change, bipartisanship in final argument

• Jobs report shows unemployment at 7.9 %
• Romney stresses achievements over rhetoric
• The GOP nominee vowed to work with Democrats

WEST ALLIS, Wis. – Mitt Romney on Friday made his closing argument for the presidency, arguing that he can bring economic prosperity through bipartisanship and responsibility.

The GOP presidential nominee also used his remarks to slam the jobs report for October, holding it up as an example of another broken promise by President Obama on the economy.

Obama "said that the unemployment rate would now be 5.2%; today, we learned that it is 7.9% It is 9 million jobs short of what he promised," Romney said. "Unemployment is higher today than when Barack Obama took office."

The unemployment rate in January 2009 was 7.6%. The economy added 171,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics report, and more than analysts had anticipated.

Obama leads Romney by 5 percentage points in the Badger State, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent statewide polls. Wisconsin has not voted for a GOP presidential nominee since 1984.

Romney urged voters to look beyond attack ads and speeches and to examine the records of each candidate before heading to the polls in four days.

"Look to the record, the accomplishments and failures, and the judgment," he said. "Words are cheap. A record is real and earned with effort. Change cannot be measured in speeches; it is measured in achievements."

Romney reiterated his five-point economic plan in the speech, which included new details about some of the legislative measures his administration would push in its first days. He said he would push for:

• Trade Promotional Authority, a measure that expired in 2007 that fast-tracks trade agreements through Congress.
• A bill called the Retraining Reform Act, to "make sure that every worker who feels left behind in this economy can get the skills and the chance for a good-paying job."
• Legislation called the Down Payment on Fiscal Sanity Act, which would cut 5% of non-security discretionary spending.

"I'm not just going to take office on January 20th," Romney said. "I'm going to take responsibility for the office as well."

All of his plans, he said, were just four days away from becoming reality.

"Four more days," he said. "Four more days, and we can get to work rebuilding our country, restoring our confidence and renewing our conviction."

Romney, who worked with a Democratic Legislature in Massachusetts, repeatedly stressed the importance of working across the aisle. He pointed to the lack of bipartisanship in Washington as another failure of the president and pledged to meet regularly with congressional leaders.

That might be easier said than done.

In response to Romney's speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid chastised the GOP nominee and derided what he called a "Tea Party agenda" that's already been rejected.

"Mitt Romney's fantasy that Senate Democrats will work with him to pass his 'severely conservative' agenda is laughable," said Reid, a Nevada Democrat.

Romney also will make two campaign appearances in Ohio, another key battleground state.

(Contributing: Catalina Camia in Washington)