Candidates give Ohioans earfuls of economics

— -- Democrat Barack Obama delivered his new home-stretch speech as rival John McCain stressed the economy during separate visits Monday to Ohio, a state that historically has been a must-win for Republicans.

No Republican has ever won the White House without winning the Buckeye State, a fact Republican nominee McCain has mentioned during visits here. State polls show Obama leading by an average of 6 percentage points in Ohio.

In Canton, Obama promised to end "an era of profound irresponsibility" by making investments to grow the nation's economy "from the bottom up."

The Democratic nominee told a crowd of 4,900 at the Canton Civic Center that he would create 2 million new jobs by rebuilding the country's roads and bridges and by laying broadband lines to deliver high-speed Internet access to "every corner of the country." Obama said he would create 5 million energy jobs by investing in renewable energy sources.

He accused McCain of subscribing to the "tired old theory" of trickle-down economics and accused business and government leaders of encouraging spending sprees rather than galvanizing the nation to meet the challenge of the 9/11 attacks.

"Even after the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, all we were asked to do by our president was to go out and shop," Obama said.

McCain began the day in Cleveland, huddling with economic advisers including former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman and former GOP primary rival Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. Also part of the group: Jack Kemp, the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee, who is a longtime tax-cutting advocate.

At the meeting and in his speech in the Dayton suburb of Kettering, McCain used a new line to distance himself from President Bush. The Arizona senator said both he and Obama actually "disagree with President Bush on economic policy."

"My approach is to get spending under control," McCain said. "The difference is that he (Obama) thinks taxes have been too low and I think that spending has been too high."