JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's crunch time in the 2012 presidential campaign, but at least in public, Mitt Romney is hardly showing it.

Rather than a mad dash of rallies and photo ops through swing states, the Republican nominee's recent schedule usually has been limited to one public event each day and sometimes none at all – his days filled instead, aides said, with a much more robust behind-the-scenes docket.

The slow pace appeared to begin accelerating late Tuesday when Romney swooped into must-win Florida, where he had initially been scheduled to hold only a private fundraiser Wednesday before heading to Virginia. Instead, aides announced that the candidate would add a stop there. Plans for Romney to take this weekend off at his beach house in San Diego also were scrapped, as campaign aides said he will remain on the trail instead.