The Democratic U.S. presidential candidate has returned to the campaign trail from a family trip to Hawaii to face a host of challenges: the search for a vice-presidential running mate, his party’s convention, and a resurgent Republican opponent.

What a difference a week makes. While Obama relaxed in Hawaii, the crisis between Russia and Georgia dominated headlines, allowing veteran Republican rival John McCain to demonstrate his foreign policy credentials.

Polls showed the race becoming increasingly tight ahead of the Nov. 4 vote, with McCain gaining ground after a series of television ads that criticized the Illinois senator.

Jumping back into the fray over the weekend, Obama attacked McCain forcefully and decried one ad that suggested the Democrat’s polices would create economic disaster.

“I’ve got news for John McCain: my plan’s not going to bring about economic disaster. We already have economic disaster,” Obama told a crowd of some 250 people on Sunday in Reno, Nevada, a battleground state in the election.

David Axelrod, his chief strategist, said Obama would continue to pound the Arizona senator over economic issues going forward, but he acknowledged last week’s vacation may have hurt the Illinois senator in the short term. “We’ve been campaigning for 18 months and this was the last possible time to do it,” Axelrod said of Obama’s holiday. “He’ll be a better ... and stronger candidate down this stretch for having done it.”

Better or not, some damage has been done. Observers said Obama’s absence gave an opening to a Republican campaign that has finally found its groove.

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