Obama campaigns to bring back the magic

ALBUQUERQUE, United States - With five weeks left to election day, President Barack Obama is trying to rekindle some of his 2008 campaign magic on college campuses while also devoting more time to a relatively new format of backyard visits that give him time to explain his policies in cozy, unhurried settings.

The two-step strategy, which will play out in four states on Tuesday and Wednesday, confronts Democrats' two biggest needs: to pump enthusiasm into young supporters who may stay at home this fall, and to persuade undecided voters that the Republican alternatives are unacceptable.

Obama was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Tuesday for the first of three backyard meetings with voters this week. He has recently embraced this form of intimate-but-televised event to defend and explain his record on the economy, health care and other topics.