Obama blasts 'yesterday's rivals'

A fired-up Barack Obama has lampooned his Republican rivals, saying they had taken the country backwards and were better-suited to the black-and-white TV era, as he began touring battleground states in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention.

Meanwhile Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney looked to capitalise on a newly energised party fresh from its three-day convention in Tampa, Florida, where a parade of speakers blasted Mr Obama’s handling of the economy, struggling in the weakest recession recovery of the post-war era.