LAS VEGAS ? Riding a positive but unpredictable wave, President Barack Obama is returning to two states that are important to his re-election, Nevada and Colorado, to promote his energy agenda and grab some of the political spotlight ahead of his Republican adversaries.
Obama will speak at a UPS center in Las Vegas and at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Col., Thursday, drawing attention to proposals for clean energy use and greater production of domestic oil and gas. The pitch comes just days after he drew Republican criticism for blocking a cross-country pipeline that would carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
Obama last visited Nevada and Colorado in late October, using that trip to launch a phase of his campaign to jump-start the economy. With economic indicators improving, Obama this time visits on a higher note.
Both states hold their presidential caucuses within the next two weeks ? events that have grown in importance since the Republican contest for the White House continues to shift and narrow to a choice between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
On Wednesday, Obama traveled to Iowa and Arizona to push for tax incentives for manufacturers. His three-day, post-State of the Union trip concludes Friday in Michigan.
Offering a preview of his energy agenda, Obama said Wednesday he was pushing for a renewed economy. "It's an economy built on American energy, fueled by homegrown and alternative energy sources that make us more secure and less dependent on foreign oil," he told workers at a Cedar Rapids manufacturing plant that specializes in conveyor screws.
Obama won both Nevada and Colorado in 2008. Nevada has had the nation's highest unemployment. But a poll in December by the Las Vegas Review-Journal showed Obama with a 6-percentage-point lead over Romney and a 12-point lead over Gingrich.
Colorado offers an example of a state with a mix of energy programs, from a booming solar-energy industry to natural gas extraction that is a result of a compromise between energy companies and environmentalists.
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