NEW YORK (AP) ? President Barack Obamas campaign has been running ads that suggest Mitt Romney might be a tax cheat. Another ad uses a clip of the Republican singing an off-key rendition of "America the Beautiful" to ding him for having overseas bank accounts. Another says Romney is the problem, not the solution.

So much for the promise of hope, change and bipartisan unity that propelled Obama to victory in 2008.

To win a second term, the Democrat has turned to highly critical campaign commercials to go toe to toe with Romney in a campaign ad war thats noteworthy for both its negativity and intensity. In doing so, Obama risks tarnishing a cherished asset: his own likability.

By Terra/AP