'Hype And Blame' Emerges As RNC's New Slogan For Obama Campaign

In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency with a campaign promise of "hope and change." With the president now in the midst of a tough battle to repeat that success, the Republican National Committee is reviving and playing off his retired slogan, claiming that Obama is running on a platform of "hype and blame."

While Obama rolled out "Forward" as his 2012 campaign's new tag phrase -- much to the alarm of some conservative commentators -- Republicans appear intent on looking backward to focus on what they're depicting as the president's first-term failures.

"He can't talk about his record because his record is full of broken promises, standards that he's made and hasn't kept, and a whole lot of bad policies," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said Thursday. "He's out on the campaign trail resorting to the very tactics he campaigned against in 2008."

The Democratic National Committee wasted no time returning fire, responding that the RNC slogan should be "distort and distract."

"The attacks coming from the RNC and the Romney campaign completely ignore facts, of which the American people are well aware –- President Obama’s actions helped save the American auto industry, created over 4 million jobs in the last two years, and strengthened the manufacturing industry," DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell said.

The latest volley between the parties comes as a recent poll shows Romney closing the gap on Obama in the key battleground states of Florida and Ohio.

Meanwhile, Romney continues to hit the campaign trail in Virginia, a state that Obama won in 2008 and likely will be vital in November.

Obama will follow Romney's path, campaigning in Richmond and Arlington, Va., later this week.