WAYNE, Pa. — Mitt Romney journeyed to a military college here Friday, aiming to make Pennsylvania a more competitive election battleground and tearing into President Barack Obama on foreign and domestic policy in a speech delivered before a backdrop of stoic, uniformed cadets.

The Republican presidential nominee charged that Obama has failed to lead both abroad, during a year of tumult in the Middle East, and on the home front, through a prolonged economic recession.

"The president wants to go down the same path he's been on for the last four years," Romney said. "He wants to keep the status quo. I don't think we can afford four more years like the last four years. The president calls his campaign slogan 'Forward.' I call it 'Forewarned,' all right? We know where it heads; we don't want to go there."