Mitt Romney shows softer side; President Barack Obama raising more cash

Obama's trip, in total, will be three days, covering fundraisers in San Francisco and a rally in Columbus, Ohio, the state at the center of both campaign's efforts.

The only official presidential business on the trip comes Monday in Keene, Calif., where Obama will designate as a national monument the home of Latino leader Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farmworkers Union who died in 1993. Yet even that move has political implications. It resonates with some Hispanic voters, who supported Obama by a 2-to-1 margin in 2008 and favor him by a similar margin over Romney in this election, polling shows.

The weekend had Obama on a high, and he needed it after a lackluster midweek debate against Romney that gave fresh hope to the challenger's bid. Even Robert Gibbs, a top Obama campaign adviser, conceded that Romney had delivered "a masterful, masterful performance."

"But I don't think Gov. Romney's positions have changed, and fundamentally, I don't think the campaign has changed," Gibbs said on ABC's "This Week."

Meanwhile, Romney's campaign unveiled a new television ad claiming Obama is not telling the truth when he says Romney wants to cut $5 trillion in taxes. The campaign has not said where the ad will run.

Obama's campaign is also running a new TV ad called "Dishonest," which carries on the post-debate theme that Romney grossly misrepresented his own positions as well as Obama's on taxes. Online videos were posted by the campaign with the mantra, "Romney won't tell the truth," about Medicare, energy, taxes and more.