Scott Horsley

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Republicans and Democrats will talk a lot about the economy during their national conventions over the next couple of weeks. And yet, the man who is about to be nominated by the Republican convention, Mitt Romney, briefly strayed from an economic message yesterday, while speaking in the Detroit suburb of Commerce, Michigan.

When it comes to fundraising, Republicans have been running circles around President Obama l— out-raising his campaign in each of the last three months. The president and his allies don't expect to even the score, but they are trying to up their game. Obama even had a basketball fundraiser on Wednesday.

President Obama has been campaigning among college students. In Nevada and Ohio Tuesday, he told them his policies are better than his opponents for keeping higher education affordable.

President Obama held an unexpected press conference Monday afternoon. The president took questions on issues ranging from Medicare to the tone of the campaign and Syria.

After weeks of saying he would not release his tax returns, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney told reporters Thursday he had checked them and could report he had always paid at least 13 percent annual in federal income tax. But Romney still refuses to make public more of his tax returns, despite a new offer from the Obama campaign.

For a week now, charges and counter charges have flown on the campaign trail about who would do what to Medicare. Did President Obama really cut $700 billion from the program? Does Republican challenger Mitt Romney really support a voucher system to replace the current program?

President Obama wraps up a four-day bus tour of Iowa this evening. The president seemed to enjoy the barnstorming — delivering speeches before enthusiastic throngs, high-fiving kids along the way, and knocking back beers with their folks. A look at the trip, and the messaging woven through the speeches and seemingly spontaneous exchanges.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

You could say that the presidential campaign got a jolt of energy this week. President Obama was in Iowa yesterday, touting the electric potential of wind power. Republican rival Mitt Romney was in Ohio, talking up that old standby, coal. Each man accused the other of standing in the way of a rival energy source.

NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

President Obama continues his campaign bus trip across Iowa. He's traveling from west to east, drawing sharp contrasts with the Republican ticket. Obama warned some jobs could be in jeopardy if a wind power tax credit is allowed to expire, as Romney has proposed.

President Obama says he wants this campaign to be about ideas and differing outlooks for the future. The selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate offers the chance for just such a fight. Ryan is the author of a conservative and controversial budget.