Obama hits Romney on women’s issues

President Barack Obama hit rival Mitt Romney hard on women’s issues as he returned to the campaign trail after a spirited debate performance that re-energised his bid for a second term.

After a much-improved performance in the second of three presidential debates, a revitalised Obama carried on sparring with his Republican opponent — making fun of Romney’s comment he had received “binders full of women” to consider for cabinet positions when he was the governor of Massachusetts.

“I’ve got to tell you, we don’t have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women ready to learn and teach in [science, technology, and engineering] right now. And when young women graduate, they should get equal pay for equal work,” Obama, relaxed and smiling in shirt sleeves and loosened tie, told 2,000 people at Cornell College in Iowa.