ago — and of evasiveness on details for Romney proposals on tax changes, health care, Wall Street regulation and more.

Both men made frequent references to the weak economy and high national unemployment, by far the dominant issue in the race for the White House. Public opinion polls show Obama with a slight advantage in key battleground states and nationally, and Romney was particularly aggressive, like a man looking to shake up the campaign with a little less than five weeks to run.

About the blog: Represent!

Represent! is your eye on how well government serves citizens and the public interest in Southern California. KPCC's politics and government team posts frequently on transparency, civic engagement, reform efforts and accountability. We invite your comments and suggestions — follow us on Twitter atThe three District of Columbia students could not believe the news. They had developed a method to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains and Nasa announced last month that they were finalists in the agency’s prestigious high school competition – the only all black, female team to make it that far.

“Hidden figures in the making,” one of the teenagers wrote in a celebratory text message to her teammates and coaches, a reference to the 2016 movie about the true story of three African-American women who worked for Nasa in the 1960s.

The next stage of the science competition included public voting and the Banneker High School students – Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell, all 17-year-old high school juniors – turned to social media to promote their