DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are making hard sells to working-class and female voters while raising the volume on their criticism to fire up the party base and cast the other as an extremist.

Romney's team thrust welfare into the campaign with an ad claiming that Obama planned to dole out taxpayer dollars to anyone, even those not trying to find work. For his part, Obama was set to appear Wednesday with Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student who became a flashpoint for women's health and, by proxy, abortion rights.

Romney is set for a Wednesday morning rally in Des Moines before flying back to the New York City area to raise more cash for his already sizable campaign accounts. Obama is heading westward to Colorado to make the case to voters, especially women, that he should be re-elected in November.