Obama offering closing case to voters in Ohio

[October 27, 2008]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Closing his case in pivotal Ohio, Barack Obama says voters can put an end to John McCain's ideas and "the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election."

Fresh off rollicking rallies in Colorado, Obama faced a more sober reality on Monday in Ohio. Polls show a tight race in the state that sealed President Bush's 2004 re-election.

Obama is giving what his campaign calls the "closing argument" of his presidential bid in Ohio, where he already lost once this year, to fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope," Obama said in prepared comments released in advance early Monday by his campaign.

The longest presidential contest in history is down to just eight days, with Obama and Republican McCain dueling for the electoral riches of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Obama's struggles to connect with white working-class voters in Ohio helped fuel that defeat in the primaries. Economic concerns are even worse now with the country in a financial crisis, and perhaps headed for deep recession, with growing numbers of people out of work.

And as Ohio goes, often goes history. No Democratic contender for the presidency has won without Ohio's support in nearly 50 years -- since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

So it is a strategic choice that Obama will deliver his next speech in the industrial northeast Ohio city of Canton. His campaign touts it as his closing case, although there will presumably be other final arguments during the final, frenetic days of the campaign.

Obama is sticking to his theme of linking McCain to President Bush, the unpopular leader of his party.

"After twenty-one months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy," Obama said.

McCain's campaign says that's false.

As one example, McCain has proposed using part of a $700 billion financial bailout package to buy up troubled mortgages, and then negotiate easier loan terms with the homeowners. McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said both Bush and Obama have been "recklessly opposed" to that.

Obama is working to solidify his lead in national and key state surveys, while McCain is looking for a comeback in a year that has Republicans pushing against severe headwinds.

Unlike in other key states, Obama has struggled to sustain a big lead in Ohio despite pounding McCain with TV ads and building a strong get-out-the-vote operation.

Both he and McCain will be in both Ohio and neighboring Pennsylvania on Monday.

Ohio never really recovered from the post-Sept. 11 recession. Long a manufacturing bastion, Ohio has lost almost 250,000 factory jobs since 2000. The unemployment rate is at 7.2 percent, well above the national average of 6.1 percent.

Ohio has 20 electoral votes. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

Pennsylvania is the only state that Democrat John Kerry won four years ago that both candidates are expected to visit before Election Day. With 21 electoral votes, it hasn't voted for a Republican president since 1988, but McCain is working the state aggressively.

Public polls show Obama comfortably leading in Pennsylvania, though private Republican surveys show a closer race.

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On the Net:

McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com/

Obama: http://www.barackobama.com/

[Associated Press; By BEN FELLER]

Associated Press writers Liz Sidoti and Andrew Welsh-Huggins contributed to this story.

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