Vice President Joe Biden swept through the Granite State Tuesday with stops in Manchester, Peterborough and Keene.

The visit was his fourth to New Hampshire this year to campaign for President Barack Obama ahead of November's election.

Speaking to a crowd of almost 500 people at Keene State College Tuesday afternoon, Biden first defended Obama's administration and the tough decisions it has had to make after the economy tanked in the fall of 2008 and then spoke to what Republican nominee Mitt Romney's approach would be.

Biden was introduced by state senator Molly Kelly and was greeted by some supporters in the balcony who loudly shouted “Yes we can.”

“You all know what we inherited,” Biden said, “And what Gov. Romney's line of argument is. He says that since we've gotten in office things have gotten much worse. He says our policies are the problem. Well as former senator Pat Moynihan, a good friend of mine, used to say, 'Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. They are not entitled to their own facts.' I'd like to just talk about the facts for a moment.”

Biden then asked the crowd to take a look at a job loss and job creation graph campaign staff had passed out to the crowd before Biden arrived.

Biden said before any of Obama's policies took effect the country had lost almost 8 million jobs.

“Look what happened once our policies began to be put into place,” he said referring to the graph, “We signed the Recovery Act. We saved the automobile industry. We gave tax cuts to business and homeowners. And things began to change. …We climbed out of the God-awful hole this economy was thrown in, was pushed in.”

The jobs were lost under the Republican watch, he said, referring to it as a “Republican-induced recession.”

Biden said a vote for Romney would be a vote for the past Republican Party mistakes.

“He says Wall Street should have fewer regulations, like the good old days,” Biden said of Romney. “And folks it will take us back to a world where nothing is secure about retirement. Where Medicare as we know it will no longer exist, replaced by a voucher plan, where Social Security is cut and capped for the next generations of retirees.”

Biden then said to the applause of the crowd, “When the middle class does well, everybody does well.”

The vice president also slammed Romney for running on his record in the private sector, but was careful to clarify he wasn't bashing private equity firms.

“Making money for your investors, which Romney did very well, is not the President's job,” Biden said. “I'm not criticizing private equity firms. … Your job as President is to promote the common good. It doesn't mean the private equity guys are bad guys. They're not. But that no more qualifies you to be President then being a plumber,” Biden quickly backtracked on the plumber jab saying, “And by the way there are an awful lot of smart plumbers. All kidding aside, it's not the same job requirement so it's totally legitimate for President Obama to point this out.”

After Biden's speech, former Harvard Law School Dean of Admissions Joyce Curll, who had cheered throughout Biden's address, said she has been supporting Obama since he was 26 years old.

“I actually admitted him into law school,” she said, adding she was impressed with him even at 26, “I thought he was going to do something great.”

Curll said she has been “extremely proud of him,” as President.

“I think he's handled incredible opposition with such grace and courage. He has made tough decisions and he has lived with them and he made them because they were the right decisions and not because they were politically expedient,” she said. “His policies have been good.”

Curll said she enjoyed Biden's talk and his defense of Obama's administration.

She said she also agreed with Biden's assessment of the difference between who would make a good business person running a private equity firm and who would make a good President.

“It really isn't what prepares you to become President,” Curll said. “I suspect if Barack Obama had been in a private equity firm he would have seen that the people in the company were made whole not his investors. … He cares about people.”

Biden flew into Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Tuesday morning, where he greeted Manchester Police officer Dan Doherty, who was shot earlier this year in the line of duty.

He then traveled via a motorcade of two New Hampshire State Police cruisers, three SUVs, and two White House limousines, bearing the official vice presidential seal, to the Manchester Fire Department where he met with 20 firefighters and other officials

Stepping out of his limousine, Biden greeted David Lang, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire, among other firefighters and police officers.

Biden then joined the firefighters in a station meeting room, where he quizzed them about Monday's fire and lauded them for their bravery and work ethic.

“I'm surprised you guys were able to get up this morning,” Biden told the firefighters, referring to a Myrtle Street apartment house fire that raged for hours Monday afternoon. “I read the paper this morning.”

Biden then made a brief lunch time stop in Peterborough on his way to Keene.

“Hey all, how are you doing?” Biden said to cheers and applause as he walked into the Peterboro Diner, a popular New Hampshire campaign stop during election season.

“Save a seat for me,” he said as he slid into a diner bench. “I'm glad to be here with you.”

Before he arrived at the diner, Biden went into an elementary school class from Milford, in Peterborough for a school field trip.

“How old are you guys?” the vice president asked, drawing a chorus of “10” from the fifth-graders.

“Is St. Louis your favorite team?” he asked one student wearing a St. Louis Cardinals shirt. “Around here I didn't know you could root for anyone but the Red Sox.”

Voters and supporters lined the streets of Peterborough as the vice president's motorcade paraded into town. They offered cheers of “Get 'em, Joe,” and “Kick butt in New Hampshire,” as he entered the diner.

Henry James, who works across from the diner at Bauhan Publishing, heard about the vice president's pending visit.

“I had to come over,” he said as he waited for Biden to enter the diner. “I didn't want to miss the opportunity to shake his hand. … I think he's great.”

Biden circled the diner for about 15 minutes, pausing to sign autographs and pose for pictures with supporters, including Democratic congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster.

“Here's what I do. I give it to friends,” Biden said, handing a camera off to one of his staff as he posed for a photo with Jane Anders, a supporter from Rindge.

“I have a photo with the President, so when I heard (the vice president) was coming, I just had to come get one with him,” Anders said, showing off her photo. “I think he's wonderful.”

After finishing his milkshake, Biden sat back into his White House limousine and continued on toward Keene, for his 1:45 p.m. speech.