So far, Clinton, a self-described policy wonk, has the most detailed economic plan, including proposals for universal health care, a universal 401(k), health- and child-care credits, green jobs, college tax credits and increased paid family leave by 2012.
"Our goal was to show that we could have a progressive agenda for American working families while moving back towards balance," Sperling told ABC News.
A senior adviser to McCain said the presumptive Republican nominee will roll out more details about his economic policy over the next two months with a series of speeches on economics, education, environment and energy.
"Sen. McCain's basic approach is to have a reliance on the capacities of American workers and firms and small businesses to make sure the government remains relatively small," McCain's senior domestic and economic policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin told ABC News.
McCain has acknowledged in the past that he knows more about foreign policy and national security than economics. Both Democratic candidates have blasted McCain for quipping that economics is not his strong suit.
"He has this wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor and out of his months comes things sometimes like ' yeah, I'm not that good on the economy' in an effort to make a small joke," Holtz-Eakin said, noting McCain has been the chair of the Senate commerce committee, and ran the largest squadron in the Navy.
Holtz-Eakin said McCain's policy will be focused on reining in congressional spending, forging trade agreements, reforming job training programs for blue-collar workers and advocating the expansion of the No Child Left Behind Act to allow parents to "take their money with them" to shop around for schools.
"Sen. McCain wants to make sure that every parent can take their child to a successful school, take the money with them and use accountability, transparency and choice as the foundation for competition, so that the child gets the education they deserve," Holtz-Eakin said.
Despite initially voting against Bush tax cuts, McCain wants to make the tax cuts permanent, give additional tax cuts to corporations and eliminate the alternative minimum tax.
"He's saying he's going to do pretty much what President Bush has done," Baker said. "I don't think that kind of head-in-the-sand approach to follow the policy of tax cuts and sort of hope for the best, that has not turned out very well."
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