Obama, Romney battle over 'change'

President Obama is trying to re-claim the mantle of change in the waning days of the campaign -- no easy task for a four-year incumbent.

Obama used the word "change" dozens of times during three campaign stops Thursday, saying that is what he has done through such items as the health care bill, new financial regulations, education policy, and the auto bailout -- and his efforts would be reversed if Republican Mitt Romney wins the presidency.

"You may be frustrated at the pace of change," Obama told backers in Boulder, Colo., but he added that "I know what real change looks like, because I fought for it."

Romney, like most challengers, is also claiming to be the candidate of change. He says that Obama's policies are a revival of the Democratic "big government" philosophy, complete with regulations and bureaucracy that slow economic growth and keep unemployment high.

"I believe that America finally needs real change," Romney said. "It was promised. We're going to give it to the American people."

Romney added: "We've seen the results of the last four years ... I mean, do you want to see four more years with 23 million Americans struggling for a good job?"

Obama says Romney's change, including plans for tax cut benefiting the wealthy, is really a revival of the George W. Bush policies that led to the near-meltdown of the financial system of 2008.

"That's not change," Obama said in Boulder. "In fact, that's exactly the attitude in Washington that we've got to change."

The candidate who best sells his version of change is likely to prevail on Election Day Tuesday.