US candidates to up the ante in final 2-week fight

Their debates now history, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney opened up a two-week sprint to Election Day powered by adrenaline, a boatload of campaign cash, and a determination to reach Nov 6 with no would-have, should-have regrets in their neck-and-neck fight to the finish.

From here, the candidates will vastly accelerate their travel, ad spending, and grassroots mobilising in a race likely to cost upward of $2bn by the time it all ends.

Obama’s campaign released a 20-page booklet called the Blueprint for America’s Future to promote a second term agenda, responding to Republican criticism that the president has not clearly articulated a plan for the next four years.