In Ohio, Romney pushes message of "big change" "This is a critical time for our country, and the choice of paths we chose will have an enormous impact," Romney said. He ticked through poor-performing schools, rising debt and stubborn joblessness, adding: "These challenges are big challenges. This election is, therefore, a big choice. And America wants to see big changes, and we're gonna bring big changes to get America stronger again. Although Romney's crowd of about 3,000 was smaller than many of the other rallies he has staged this week, the throng packed inside a Cincinnati warehouse was electric. Every time Romney spoke of "big change" - a phrase he used at least a half-dozen times - his supporters" screams were nearly deafening, a sign of the growing enthusiasm among Republicans. Romney and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who introduced him, urged supporters to vote early. With Democrats holding an edge in early voting here and in other swing states, Romney is trying to close that gap before Election Day, when Republicans are confident they will have a larger turnout. Both campaigns acknowledge that the race in Ohio has tightened this month, but Obama still holds a lead in most polls, even though some of them are within the margin of error. Romney urged supporters in Cincinnati - a heavily populated corner of Ohio where the GOP nominee needs to run up a big margin to offset Obama's gains elsewhere in the state - to persuade friends who may be considering voting for Obama to come over to the Republican side. "On November 6, I'm counting on Ohio to vote for big change," Romney said. We need to make sure Ohio is able to send a message loud and clear: We want real change. We want big change. Romney repeatedly attacked Obama, belittling him for focusing on what Romney called "smaller and smaller things," which he said were sinking the president's reelection campaign. Romney also slammed Obama as not having "new answers" to turn around the long-beleaguered economy. "The path we're on - the status quo path - is a path that doesn't have an answer about how to get the economy going, that doesn't know how to get the private sector to start creating jobs or how to build more take-home pay," Romney said. The path we're on does not have new answers. The president has the same old answers as in the past. He wants another stimulus, he wants more government workers, and he wants to raise taxes. The Obama campaign swiftly responded Thursday by saying that the president has a "concrete and specific" plan for a second term and that Romney would merely go back to the economic policies of the George W. Bush administration. In addition, the Obama campaign criticized Romney for not publicly condemning Richard Mourdock, a GOP Senate candidate from Indiana, who asserted this week that pregnancy resulting from rape is "something God intended to happen." Although Romney's spokeswoman said he disagrees with Mourdock's views, Romney himself has remained silent. During a brief visit to a Cincinnati diner Thursday morning, Romney refused repeatedly to answer questions from reporters about the issue. "Here's the "big change" Mitt Romney is offering: going back to the same failed policies that caused the economic crisis and empowering the extreme voices in his party like Richard Mourdock," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement. Americans, she said, "know that we won't be able to move forward with a President who is beholden to the far right wing."