Carolyn Kaster / AP

Vice President Joe Biden talks to customers during a stop at Cruisers Diner, Sept. 9, in Seaman, Ohio. This photo was taken after the rest of the press pool was escorted out of the room.

"I say to the press, 'Fact check me,'" the vice president declared before launching into a lengthy critique of the Republican plan for Medicare overhaul.

"What they're proposing will actually cost the Medicare trust fund that pays for the benefits when you go to the hospital, the doctor, to run out of money, a sufficient amount of money by 2016," he said. "That's when it would hit the wall."

-- Reported by NBC's Carrie Dann

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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, May 5. Obama officially kicked off his re-election campaign with visits to Ohio and Virginia.

With his wife at his side and Air Force One as a campaign plane, President Barack Obama was holding his first political rallies of the 2012 presidential race on Saturday -- targeting two swing states, Ohio and Virginia, that could be critical to his bid to retain the White House.

The events at two universities, Ohio State and Virginia Commonwealth, were billed as the official kickoff of Obama's re-election bid, even though he's been solidly engaged in his campaign and over a year ago filed the necessary paperwork to run again.

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images, Toby Talbot / AP, David Maxwell / EPA

Super Tuesday voting. From left:
A polling station setup in Froehlich's Classic Corner, Ohio.
A voter casts his ballot in Montpelier, Vt.
Justin Blake prepares to vote at the town hall in Rootstown, Ohio.

Here's the skinny on Super Tuesday courtesy of msnbc.com's First Read:

Eleven states across the country will hold contests awarding a combined 424 delegates. Here are the 11 contests, plus the delegates at stake in each: Alaska caucus (24), Georgia primary (76), Idaho caucus (32), Massachusetts primary (38), North Dakota caucus (28), Ohio primary (63), Oklahoma primary (40), Tennessee primary (55), Vermont primary (17), Virginia primary (46), and Wyoming caucus (5 of its 26 are elected tonight).

The GOP presidential candidates have different strategies and strongholds in these 11 races. Romney hopes to lock down his home state of Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia (where only he and Paul are on the ballot), and Idaho. Santorum is expecting wins in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Gingrich has focused on his home state of Georgia. And Paul has concentrated on the caucuses in Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota, as well as the primary in Vermont.

 Download the NBC News Guide to Super Tuesday (opens PDF).

John Amis / AP

Mary Lou Andrews stops to fill out a voter certification card as others go in to Medlock Bridge Elementary School to cast their ballots in the Republican primary in Johns Creek, Ga., on March 6, 2012.