TAMPA, Fla — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney urged voters here to make President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday his last and blamed the Democrat for pushing policies that have raised the nation’s unemployment rate, worsened the housing crises and pushed the nation deeper into a sea of red ink.

Standing under an “Obama Isn’t Working” banner, the former Massachusetts governor said that Mr. Obama, during his first three years in office, has “amassed an actual record of debt, decline and disappointment” and pushed the nation toward a “European-style welfare state.”

Along the way, Mr.

ROCHESTER, Mich. – If it's too big to fail, it's too big, several Republican presidential candidates said Wednesday, arguing in the latest 2012 debate that housing and tax reforms, as well as an end to government bailouts, are critical to stopping the U.S. economy's slide into mediocrity.

In what was largely a friendly debate -- with most of the candidates' ire directed toward the current administration rather than each other -- the most unforgettable moment of the night came when Texas Gov. Rick Perry stumbled in a moment of forgetfulness. Perry's brain freeze came when he couldn't remember the three agencies that he would pledge to get rid of as president.

"Sorry. Oops," he said, after recalling only the departments of Commerce and Education. He later said he also wanted to abolish the Energy Department.

The slumping housing market struck a sour note Tuesday, somewhat dampening optimism that the economy is getting a big sugar rush from the best Christmas selling season in three years.

Splurging consumers bent on celebrating the holidays in style so far have been largely undeterred by continuing doubts about the state of the housing and jobs markets, retailers report. Consumer spending is the biggest engine of growth, accounting for about 70 percent of economic activity.

But a report from Standard & Poor's Corp. on Tuesday showed the housing market continues to cast a shadow over the consumer parade. A renewed drop of 1.3 percent in home prices in 20 major U.S. cities in October showed clearly that housing fell into a double-dip recession last fall...