The increasingly contentious fight for the White House moved from the debate stage back to the campaign trail on Wednesday, as President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney and their running mates traversed the nation's battleground states, seeking an advantage from Tuesday's fiery town-hall forum.

A day after Obama and Romney squared off in New York, the reverberations — and recriminations — flew as both sides tried to re-frame a race that had been tilting in Romney's favor after the first presidential debate.

But it will take days to determine the effect of Tuesday night's event, and the candidates — as animated on Wednesday as they were onstage together — tried to re-litigate some of Tuesday's most memorable exchanges.