Obama Shifts To Campaign Mode [VIDEO]

President Barack Obama is on the campaign trail.

He held back-to-back rallies in two swing states Saturday.

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In the first rally, Obama told an enthusiastic crowd at Ohio State in Columbus that America’s had a tough time rebounding from a deep recession. But he said it’s come too far to turn back now.

He also branded GOP rival Mitt Romney a willing rubber-stamp for failed policies championed by extreme House Republicans.

Obama said Romney seems to think if wealthy Americans like him or big corporations get richer, the country will prosper. But Obama says bigger profits haven’t led to better jobs, and Romney “doesn’t seem to get that.”

Later, he spoke at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Both Ohio and Virginia are seen as critical to the election outcome.

Obama has raised cash and given campaign-like speeches for months, but today’s rallies are the first events formally organized by his campaign apparatus.

“Three and a half years after running on hope and change, Barack Obama kicked off his campaign with more divisive rhetoric and showed us he really is running on hype and blame,” Romney responded according to ABCNews.com.

Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Americans in November will “hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.”

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)