President Barack Obama will be back on the campaign trail Thursday to lay out his closing argument five days before the election after being sidelined in Washington for most of the week to monitor superstorm Sandy.
Mr. Obama begins a two-day, four-state tour in Wisconsin, followed by stops in Nevada, Colorado and Ohio. The Obama campaign is billing Thursday's events as the beginning of the president's effort to lay out the case he will make to voters through Election Day.
The argument is expected to focus on themes Mr. Obama has sounded throughout the nearly two-year-long campaign: reviving the middle class. He also is expected to continue criticizing Republican nominee Mitt Romney, although it is unclear how his tone may shift from the sharp attacks he has launched in recent weeks.
"While Governor Romney promotes the same policies that failed our country and ran the middle class into the ground and calls it change, President Obama will point the way forward to real change that will boost the middle class and create a stronger future for all Americans," the Obama campaign said in a statement previewing the president's Thursday remarks.
Mr. Romney softened his tone at campaign events Wednesday in the immediate aftermath of the storm that soaked the Northeast and has affected millions of Americans.
Mr. Obama hasn't engaged in campaign combat for several days as he has tended to recovery efforts. He spent Wednesday in New Jersey touring damaged areas with Gov. Chris Christie, a Romney supporter.
The president is scheduled to be on the campaign trail every day until Tuesday as he tries to make up for lost time.
