First lady Michelle Obama speaks to supporters at Orr Middle School on Friday in Las Vegas. | JOHN GURZINSKI~AFP/Getty Images
Paul Ryan speaks at a campaign rally Friday at North Canton Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio. | Tony Dejak~AP
This Oct. 25, 2012 photo shows appliances on display at Orville's Home Appliances store in Amherst, N.Y. The government's snapshot Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, of the U.S. economy's growth will be its last before Americans choose a president in 11 days. It probably won't sway many undecided voters. The first of three estimates of growth for the July-September quarter will likely sketch a picture that's been familiar all year: The economy is growing at a tepid rate, slowed by high unemployment, corporate anxiety over an unresolved budget crisis and a global economic slowdown. The government's report covers gross domestic product. GDP measures the nation's total output of goods and services from restaurant meals and haircuts to airplanes, appliances and highways. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
The nation’s economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate during the third quarter, a number immediately dissected for its effect on the Nov. 6 presidential election. Outwardly, the result appears positive for President Barack Obama. The report on the nation’s gross domestic product issued …
