Keith Srakocic / AP

Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. center, accompanied by Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, right, gestures Saturday while speaking at a campaign rally at the Valley View Campgrounds in Belmont, Ohio, where he talked about economic conditions and the coal industry.

BELMONT, Ohio -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took aim at President Barack Obama's energy policy during a campaign swing through coal country Saturday.

"One thing Belmont County can do," Ryan said here at Valley View Campgrounds, "if you head to early voting at your Belmont board of elections the one thing you can do is elect a man named Mitt Romney, who will end this war on coal and allow us to keep these good-paying jobs."

Standing in front of a barn with a huge "Victory in Ohio" sign behind him, Ryan continued attacking Obama just two days before the final presidential debate: "Gas prices have doubled since President Obama was elected; we are losing thousands of coal jobs; we have a 100 coal plants that are scheduled to close; and thousands more jobs are on the chopping block. When you take a look at all his assault on oil and gas, he’s closing down oil and gas on our federal lands; he’s making it harder for us to get it overseas."

This Southeastern Ohio rally marks Ryan's 24th public event in the Buckeye State -- a key state needed to go Republican on Nov. 6th for a Romney victory.

An Ohio Fox News poll released Friday showed the race tightening in the battleground state, with Obama leading Romney 46 percent to 43 percent.

Speaking earlier Saturday in Moon Township, Penn., a Pittsburgh suburb, Ryan told the crowd after waving the Terrible Towel associated with NFL’s Steelers: "We also need to make sure we open up markets so we can make more things in America and sell them overseas. Make sure people trade fairly with us, open our markets so we can make more things in steel country and sell them all around the world. That creates good jobs."

Saturday's Pennsylvania rally marked only the third public appearance in the state by the seven- term Wisconsin congressman. He was last there nearly two months ago on Aug. 21, when he also geared his speeches to focus more on energy while in Appalachia.

Speaking inside an airport hangar Saturday in the Keystone State, Ryan told voters they should be very concerned if Obama gets re-elected because of his energy policies.

"Not only are these policies wrong, not only do these policies cost us jobs, not only do they mean that American energy dollars go to the Middle East, they are keeping us from having a boom, they are keeping us from having jobs, they are keeping us from making our pay checks stretch farther," he said.

Obama's campaign fired back on these charges.

"The President has an all-of-the-above energy plan for his second term that will cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support 600,000 natural gas jobs by the end of the decade. Mitt Romney can try to hide his true positions and policies in the final weeks of the campaign, but the truth is that he has no plan to create jobs or strengthen the middle class," campaign spokesman Danny Kanner said in a statement.

Jamie Sabau / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, speak on stage Friday at a rally in Lancaster, Ohio.

LANCASTER, Ohio — Campaigning with his running mate on Friday in the battleground state of Ohio, Mitt Romney praised Paul Ryan’s performance the previous night in the vice presidential debate.

"We got to watch this guy debate and there was one person on the stage with thoughtfulness, who was respectful, who was steady and poised. There is one person on that stage you’d want to be with if there were a crisis — it is this man right here," Romney said at sunset in the Lancaster Town Square.

Ryan also mentioned how he squared off with Vice President Joe Biden: "You have a huge choice to make. We have a big choice to make. You know, I think we saw a sign of it last night just like we saw it a week ago. You see, they are offering no new ideas. The president is simply saying more of the same. Hope and change has become attack and blame."

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Romney’s debate partner, joined in the debate chatter as well, telling the crowd: "We’ve had two great debates in the last eight days."

President Barack Obama’s campaign spokesman, Lis Smith, disagreed with the Republican’s assessment of Thursday night’s debate in Danville, Ky.

"Mitt Romney and Congressman Ryan were awfully defensive about last night’s debate at their event in Ohio. It’s no surprise why -- Vice President Biden unmasked their real agenda," she wrote in a statement.

Romney and Ryan last campaigned together in another crucial state — Virginia — and that rally was the night following Romney’s first presidential debate.

The GOP ticket is continuing to crisscross the country as recent poll numbers show a tightening race.

"I've had the fun of going back and forth across Ohio and this week I was also in Florida and Iowa; I was in North Carolina, in Virginia and, you know what, there is a growing crescendo of enthusiasm people recognize that this is not an ordinary campaign; this is a critical time for the country; there is more energy and passion; people are getting behind this campaign; we're taking back this country," the Republican presidential nominee told the several-thousand person crowd Friday night.

While Romney and Ryan campaign separately Saturday, both candidates remain in the Buckeye State – only further emphasizing the significance of the Midwestern state on Nov. 6th.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On the opening day of bow hunting season in Ohio, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan addressed a large group of sportsmen in the battleground state proclaiming he is a hunting and fishing enthusiast.

“Our opening day (in Wisconsin) was two weeks ago. I’ve got some stands out in the woods, but they’re not going to see me this year. And you know why? Because we are going to give this country a choice,” Ryan told the crowd, speaking at the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance’s 16th Annual Save Our Heritage Banquet.

Later, he talked about taking his three children fishing.

“Teaching your kid how to take a night crawler and split it into about five pieces and put it on the hook ... make sure they don’t cut their hand when they push the gill down, take it off the hook. That’s a good life lesson. These are the things we teach our kids as hunting and fishing enthusiasts,” Ryan said about he and his wife, Janna.

The former chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen Caucus -- which Ryan described as the largest bipartisan caucus in Congress -- turned partisan midway through his speech expressing concern about another term for President Barack Obama.

“I shudder as a gun owner, seeing his [Obama’s] record when he was in the Illinois state Senate. What would he do if he never has to face the voters ever again? These are the kinds of questions we think about,” Ryan told the roughly 1,000-person crowd.

The attacks on the Obama-Biden ticket didn’t stop there as Ryan read word for word a response to Vice President Joe Biden’s comments Friday in Florida hitting the GOP ticket on Social Security and Medicare.

“Let me be very clear: There is only one person in this race threatening the health and retirement security programs of our seniors, and that is President Obama. There is only one person in this race insisting on raising taxes and that is President Obama,” the Wisconsin congressman said.

He went on to promise: “Mitt Romney and I will never waiver in our commitment to our seniors. Our plans actually save these programs, they make no changes for people in or near retirement, they strengthen Medicare and Social Security for a generation.”

Biden claimed in Boca Raton on Friday that a President Romney would not help the middle class.

“Well, if Governor Romney’s plan goes into effect, it could mean that everyone, everyone of you, would be paying more on taxes on your Social Security. The average senior would have to pay $460 a year more in taxes for their Social Security,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s why these guys, while these guys are out there having hemorrhaging tax cuts for the super wealthy.”

The event Saturday evening marks Ryan’s 13th campaign appearance in the state since being chosen as Romney’s running mate. He was presented with a shotgun made in Ohio but because of congressional ethics rules asked to have the gift be made part of the event's silent auction. 

Ryan readies for 3-day debate camp

Before heading to the annual banquet, Ryan stopped at a popular sports bar just a few hundred yards away from Ohio State University to watch the Buckeyes play the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. He was joined by his wife plus his old college roommate from Miami University of Ohio, Tom Blackstone.

The surprise visit at The Varsity Club -- during which the VP nominee enjoyed a Miller Lite and shook hands with many patrons -- comes at a time when the Romney-Ryan ticket seems to be falling behind in the battleground state of Ohio.

According to a recent Washington Post poll of the state, Obama leads Romney there 52 percent to 41 percent.

Some have argued Ohio’s Republican Gov. John Kasich has not helped the GOP ticket enough as he likes to boast the state’s success in creating jobs. Saturday night, speaking before Ryan at the sportsmen banquet, he again gave his state rave reviews. 

“Folks as I walked around through the audience here, a lot of nice people saying, ‘You know, things are getting better.’ They are getting better. You know we are up 123,000 jobs in our state and that’s good news,” Kasich said. “I will say this to you: If at times I’ve got to take some heat, that’s OK because it is my job to build a stronger Ohio. Forget all the politics. Man to man, man to woman, this is all about making our state strong, and you know what, we’ve got what it takes.”

Ryan heads to Connecticut and New York for the next two days to raise money before heading to Iowa on a two-day bus tour of the Hawkeye State.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., the Republican vice presidential candidate, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., share a laugh with waitress Lourdes Alcerro during a campaign stop Saturday at Versailles restaurant in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami.

MIAMI -- Paul Ryan made a direct appeal to the large Hispanic population in south Florida on Saturday morning as he spoke inside the popular Versailles Restaurant with several prominent Florida politicians.

“I learned from these friends, from Mario, from Lincoln, from Ileana, just how brutal the Castro regime is, just how this president's policy of appeasement is not working,” Ryan said standing next to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.

Ryan vowed to the crowd, which sang “God Bless America” upon the congressman’s arrival: “In a Mitt Romney administration, we will not keep practicing this policy of appeasement; we will be tough on this brutal dictator; all it has done is rewarded more despotism … we will help those pro-democracy groups. We will be tough on Castro, tough on Chavez. And it’s because we know that's the right policy for our country."

These words mark Ryan’s first comments on how a President Romney would handle relations with Cuba.

Several dozen turned out to see the Republican vice presidential nominee on a rainy morning in Miami and Ryan was sure to give a shout-out to the popular Republican leaders from the area, including Sen. Marco Rubio, and two brothers who spoke to the crowd ahead of Ryan, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

Bush, introducing Ryan, helped the Wisconsin native learn a little Spanish.

"I need to teach Paul one word in Spanish,” the brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former President George H. W. Bush said. “Here we call this ‘una aguacera.’ This was just a little tropical rainstorm.”

Romney's youngest son, Craig, was also on hand and addressed the crowd in Spanish as many of the other politicians did as well.

Ryan began his visit to the famous Cuban establishment by enjoying a cup of Café Colatta with the former governor and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen but wasted no time attacking President Barack Obama during his speech to Floridians.

“Just a couple days ago on Univision, President Obama admitted that he can't change Washington from the inside. Why do we send presidents to the White House in the first place?” he asked. “I mean, we send presidents to change and fix the mess in Washington. And if this president has admitted that he can't change Washington, then you know what, we need to change presidents."

Ryan mingled his way thru the packed restaurant after his brief remarks and even insisted on giving the woman running against Democratic National Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz a hug.

Saturday’s appearance in the Sunshine State marked Ryan’s sixth public event as the Romney-Ryan ticket tries to win the state’s 29 electoral votes in November.

Bush made a bold prediction about his state as he spoke to reporters following the event: “Romney is going to carry Florida.”

LAKELAND, Fla. – Paul Ryan dismissed claims Friday afternoon that he is not being properly utilized on the campaign trail as Mitt Romney’s running mate.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a major advocate of Ryan being tapped as VP, told a Milwaukee radio host earlier in the day the Romney campaign needs “to use him [Ryan] out on the trail more effectively, they need to have more of him rub off on Mitt.”

Ryan said he disagrees with the claims made by his fellow Cheesehead, saying he is “absolutely” being utilized enough.

“Oh, he [Walker] is just a good backer of mine. I feel really good about it [his role]. Look, I am doing the things I want to do,” Ryan said inside “Walker’s Produce” -- a local fruit stand. “Look at what we are doing, we are talking to local people, going around the country talking to local press. I am excited about my role. I feel very comfortable with it.”

The quick stop outside of Tampa came just a couple hours after the GOP presidential nominee released his complete 2011 taxes – something Republicans and Democrats alike have been pressuring Romney to do for some time. Romney paid more than $1.9 million in taxes on income of about $13.7 million and donated about $4 million to charity, although he only claimed a deduction of about $2.25 million from those donations, according to the campaign.

Bill Haber / AP

Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appears at an AARP convention Friday in New Orleans.

Ryan reacted to Romney’s “unique” tax situation.

"I think that what this shows is that the Romneys are extremely generous people,” he told reporters. “They gave away 30 percent of their income to charity so Mitt Romney has always believed to whom much is given, much is required and he is living proof of that and this just shows you how generous the Romneys are as people."

The seven-term Wisconsin congressman, who walked thru the outdoor market in the Sunshine State with his 78-year-old mom, Betty, who is a Florida resident, held his only public event earlier in the day when he addressed the AARP convention in New Orleans. Ryan received a very unfriendly welcome by the crowd but it was nothing he didn’t expect.

“Entitlement reform has unfortunately been made very partisan by partisans and so I have gotten that kind of reaction and unfortunately it's what we've come to expect because the politics of reforming entitlements has become very bitter,” he said before heading to attend private fundraiser in the area. “It's very unfortunate because if we let the politics get the best of us-- these problems are going to get out of our control. We've got to fix Medicare before it goes bankrupt."

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday, the Romney-Ryan ticket trails President Barack Obama in terms of how voters believe each ticket would deal with Medicare: 47 percent of voters surveyed believe Obama would better deal with the program compared to just 37 percent who believer Romney would handle it better.

Mary Altaffer / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, left, vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan, and their wives, Ann Romney, second form left, and Janna Ryan, greet supporters Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan went to military country Saturday and promised those serving our country that if elected, they would not cut the military budget.

"Now there’s only one place -- there’s only one place this president’s willing to cut, and not just a little.  He wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military budget," Romney told the crowd to boos. "Look, that’s bad for jobs and it’s bad for our national security. The world is not a safer place right now, not with Iran trying to become nuclear, dangers throughout the world.  If I’m president and Paul Ryan’s vice president we will not cut our military budget."

While Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, continues to campaign against these pending defense cuts, he in fact voted last summer for the Budget Control Act of 2011, resolving the debt-ceiling debate, that included this defense sequester.

Romney and Ryan spoke here in Jacksonville, which has the third-largest naval presence in the country.

"I look around here and I see veterans, I see Air Force, I see Marines, I see Army over there, I see a lot of Navy," Ryan said before the roughly 5,000-person crowd. "Thank you for your service to our country. You make us proud."

The GOP ticket has been trying to reach out to different pockets of the electorate in the past week to try bridging the gap for Romney as he trails President Barack Obama in polls. The GOP nominee’s wife, Ann Romney, held events geared toward both women and Hispanics. Mitt Romney traveled to Indianapolis on Wednesday to address veterans at The American Legion.

The military vote, which according to exit polls went for Republican candidate John McCain 54 percent to 44 percent in 2008, could help Romney defeat Obama this fall.

Romney advisers concede the state of Florida -- which even hosted the Republican National Convention this year -- is all but essential for a Republican victory on Nov. 6.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is in our hands, it is in your hands. Florida, Floridians, you have a major say so, you have a big responsibility and a big opportunity," Ryan said, speaking at The Landing on a very hot day. "If Florida goes the right way, America goes the right way."

KENNER, La -- It was a substance-free, 12-minute prime-time performance that remains unlikely to sway a single vote, but Clint Eastwood's cameo appearance and conversation with an empty chair representing President Barack Obama in Thursday night's final hour of the Republican convention coverage remained a prime topic on the campaign trail Friday.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Actor Clint Eastwood speaks to an empty chair Thursday during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Mitt Romney's top strategist told reporters on the candidate's campaign plane Friday that the moment should be judged as a performance, and that while not everyone may have liked it, Eastwood's very presence -- and concern for out-of-work Americans in particular -- made the rambling remarks by the 82-year old Academy Award winner worthwhile.

"The fact that he’s there shows he’s speaking his mind and if somebody wants to say I would have liked this different performance or that difference performance, have it," Romney campaign strategist Stuart Stevens told reporters, comparing the remarks to two famous Eastwood films. "Some people didn’t like 'Dirty Harry,' some people didn’t like 'Gran Torino,' that’s OK."

And while Ann Romney and several of Romney's top advisers remained stone-faced during Eastwood's appearance, Stevens said Mitt Romney very much enjoyed it.

"I was backstage with him and he was laughing," Stevens said."[Romney] thought it was funny."

A Romney adviser confirmed the remarks were ad-libbed, and the use of an empty chair as a prop was not discussed by the campaign. If there was any panic during the remarks, the adviser said, it might have come from the control room, where convention planners watched Eastwood continue for more than double his allotted time.

"He did what actors do sometimes, he did a little improv. If someone wants to say this wasn’t Clint Eastwood’s greatest performance, have at it. It doesn’t matter, you know," the adviser said. "It’s I think people saw that Clint Eastwood was not only endorsing Romney but endorsing the need for change. I liked that."

Meanwhile in Virginia, Romney running mate Paul Ryan faced a question by a reporter from NBC’s Hampton Roads affiliate WAVY if Eastwood's remarks were a distraction.

"I think Clint Eastwood was just being Clint Eastwood,” Ryan said in the interview to air Saturday. “One of the most profound things Clint said was that 23 million people out of work struggling to find jobs is just unacceptable."

Vice President Joe Biden, who was the butt of several of Eastwood's sharpest jokes, didn't mention the 'Dirty Harry' actor's performance during campaign stops in Ohio Friday.

But, according to pool reports, a supporter did allude to Eastwood's chair act, insisting to Biden during an impromptu stop at an Ohio fairgrounds that "You gotta keep the chair."

Biden didn't directly acknowledge the "chair" comment but gave the woman, Bev Kalmer of Poland, Ohio, a kiss on the lips.

Ann Romney, who spoke in prime time on the first full night of the convention, told CBS that Eastwood is "a unique guy and he did a unique thing" during his RNC appearance.

Asked if she was surprised by the unusual speech, she laughed and said merely "I didn't know it was coming."

Related: Clint Eastwood's 'invisible guest' RNC appearance is a hit online