(Dawn Megli / Neon Tommy)

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got aggressive Thursday in critiques of his opponent President Barack Obama, criticizing comments Obama made about what it takes to make change in the government.

Obama, during an interview with a Spanish-language television station in Florida, said that the 2010 healthcare overhaul was the result of outside forces exerting pressure on Washington, because "You can't change Washington from the inside, you can only change Washington from the outside," Obama said, according to Reuters.

Romney responded by pointing out the president's inability to handle the massive debt and one-trillion dollar deficits that plague the nation.

"The president today threw in the white flag of surrender again.  He said he can't change Washington from the inside, he can only change it from outside.  Well, we're going to give him that chance in November.  He's going outside," Romney said at a rally in Sarasota, Fla., according to Reuters.

Romney's aggressive approach in Florida has followed the significant blows he received after comments he made regarding Obama's handling of the Libyan embassy attacks and after the secret video put out by Mother Jones that showed Romney discussing how he will never be able to convince the 47 percent of Americans that are Obama voters to "take personal responsibility for their lives."

According to the Washington Post, Romney's chances of winning have grown slimmer.

New polls show that Romney trails Obama by eight points in Iowa and by five points in Colorado and Washington.

All three are important battleground states.

The Washington Post said that the Romney campaign views those three states are vital to gaining an Electoral College majority.

The surveys were done earlier in the week, when news of the secret video exploded in the media.

With seven days until early voting begins in Iowa, less than two weeks till the first debate and 46 days left until election day, Romney is running out of time, according to the New York Times.

Romney aides said that he expected to be in a position of strength in at least some swing states that had voted for Obama in 2008, but few of those states are showing signs of supporting Romney, according to the New York Times.

Romney remains close with Obama in national polls, but the recent blows to his campaign have worried Republicans about the candidate's ability to pull off a win in the election.

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of Romney's campaign at our blog Politically Correct.

Reach Executive Producer Michael Juliani here.  Follow him on Twitter here.