Suspense to the end, both tickets in Cleveland

Ten miles to the west, Biden stopped at the Landmark Restaurant lunch counter and apologized for the commotion caused by his entourage. He told diners in one booth he understands they just came to get some spaghetti "and Joe Biden shows up."

Both sides cast the Election Day choice as one with far-reaching repercussions for a nation still recovering from the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression and at odds over how big a role government should play in solving the country's problems.

"We can make sure that we make even greater progress going forward in putting folks back to work and making sure that they've got decent take-home pay, making sure that they have the health insurance that they need, making sure we're protecting Medicare and Social Security," Obama said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show." ''All those issues are on the ballot, and so I'm hoping that everybody takes this seriously."

Romney argued that Obama had his chance to help Americans financially and blew it. "If it comes down to economics and jobs, this is an election I should win," Romney told Cleveland station WTAM.

With both sides keeping up the onslaught of political ads in battleground states right into Election Day, on one thing, at least, there was broad agreement: "I am ready for it to be over," said nurse Jennifer Walker in Columbus, Ohio.

The election played out with intensity in the small subset of battleground states: Colorado, Iowa, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Romney's late move to add Pennsylvania to the mix was an effort to expand his options, and Republicans poured millions into previously empty airwaves there.

In the campaign's final hours, voters around the country echoed the closing arguments of the two presidential candidates.

Jim Clark, a 42-year-old computer administrator from Topeka, Kan., is a registered Republican who voted for Obama in 2008, seeking change. But he voted Tuesday for Romney after losing a full-time job two years ago and working temporary assignments since then.

"I'm just ready for a change," Clark said. "It's tougher for me, personally. The economy has not improved."

Lauren Clay, 28, a doctoral student in disaster science and management, voted for Obama.

"He has a done a really good job given what he was handed four years ago," she said.