Romney distances himself from senate candidate

>>> urgency on the campaign trail for both president obama and governor romney with the election just 13 days away now. nbc's peter alexander is in las vegas this morning on the campaign trail. peter, good morning to you.

>> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. a new urgency, as you noted, an accelerated pace, and these campaign's travel plans over the next 13 days says a lot about where they believe this race will be decided. the president today kick off a 48-hour, seven-state battleground blitz. he'll vote in his home state of illinois as well. mitt romney will hit several swing states before the weekend, including florida, virginia and ohio. in his first trip back to colorado since that first debate performance that shifted the course of this race, mitt romney enjoyed a political rocky mountain high tuesday night.

>> we're on the home stretch now, and i think the people of colorado are going to get us all the way there. what do you think?

>> reporter: and again, accused his opponent of unloading an arsenal of attacks but no solutions.

>> day in and day out there's one attack after the other. attacks on us, that does not make an agenda for the future.

>> reporter: in the must-win state of ohio president obama tried to fortify his support and questioned whether voters can trust mr. romney .

>> ohio, you know me. you know i mean what i say. you know that i do what i say i'm gonna do.

>> reporter: each stump speech punctuated by this now familiar phrase, accusing his rival of conveniently forgetting past positions.

>> it's called romnesia. sounds like a classic case of romnesia. you've got to vote to make sure the medicine is there for romney 's romnesia.

>> reporter: the president also unveiled a 20-page booklet promoting his second-term agenda.

>> unlike mitt romney i'm proud to talk about what is in my plan.

>> reporter: late tuesday the romney campaign distanced itself from republican candidate richard murdouck of indiana after he made these comments of murder and rape on tuesday.

>> i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for -- to have an abortion is in that case of life of a mother. i struggled with it myself for a long time, but i came to realize life is that gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen

>> reporter: romney campaign responded governor romney disagears with richard mourdock 's comments, and they do not reflect his views. it's the second time this year a republican senate candidate has made controversial comments about rape. missouri republican candidate todd akin sparked outrage in august describing his own opposition to abortion, even in the case of what he called legitimate rape. top republicans quickly with drew their support from akin's campaign. and savannah, responding to the controversy around those comments, mr. mourdock put out the statement yesterday saying god creates life. god by no means wants rape and by no means was i suggesting that he does. rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to gift my words otherwise is absurd and sick. nonetheless, not the kind of distraction any candidate wants just 13 days in the election.

>> peter alexander , on the trail,