Obama Debuts Middle Class Rescue Plan In Toledo

McCain Meanders in Virginia, Says "We've got them just where we want them."

OhioNewsBureau

by John Michael Spinelli

Columbus, Ohio: Because anxiety runs high in Ohio over lost jobs, homes and retirement savings, it's no wonder Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama chose Toledo, a once-powerful industrial city in northwest Ohio on the borderline with Michigan that has lost jobs and population during the Bush White House years to articulate his rescue plan for America's middle class.

Although polling by Gallup (51% to 41%) and Rasmussen Reports (50% to 45%) show Obama leads McCain nationally, one new statewide poll shows the two in a statistical dead-heat.

The Poll Tolls for Thee

With 22 days until Election Day, the political ground game in Ohio between Obama and his Republican rival, Arizona Sen. John S. McCain, has brought the battle to a statistical dead-heat. The latest statewide look at which candidate Buckeyes favor, conducted by the Ohio News Organization, a consortium of the state's eight largest newspapers, showed McCain still ahead but by only 2 percentage points (48% to 46%), making the race to win Ohio's important 20 Electoral votes even.

Disconcerting to say the least, the poll results revealed that a growing percentage of Ohioans (about 20%) think their parents generation had it better than they do and that their children's generation will be worse off still.

There are two other presidential candidates, Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, but only 5 percent of those polled sided with them, while another 5 percent remain undecided. A contemporary school of thought sees undecided voters as people who won't vote for Obama because he is black. Because of this hypothesis about hidden racism, election watchers say Obama's margin must be greater than the undecideds to offset any racist leanings by this group.

"We meet at a moment of great uncertainty for America. The economic crisis we face is the worst since the Great Depression. Markets across the globe have become increasingly unstable, and millions of Americans will open up their 401(k) statements this week and see that so much of their hard-earned savings have disappeared." [Text of Obama speech in Toledo, Ohio on Monday]

For a once mighty state fallen on hard times, Obama's statement that unemployment is up 85 percent over the last eight years comes as no surprise. During this same period, Ohio has lost approximately 280,000 manufacturing jobs, none of which anyone thinks will come back any time soon.

"You’ve lost one of every four manufacturing jobs, the typical Ohio family has seen their income fall $2,500, and it’s getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month. At this rate, the question isn’t just 'are you better off than you were four years ago?', it’s 'are you better off than you were four weeks ago?'" [Text of Obama speech in Toledo, Ohio Monday]

Ohio Budget Report Echos Financial Crisis

Last week's Monthly Financial Report from Gov. Ted Strickland's Office of Budget and Management echoes all too sadly the profile Obama gave of Ohio, and by extension the rest of the nation, where states are cutting budgets and staff and, for some like California, are looking to Uncle Sam to lend them billions to fill widening gaps in state finances.

Issued under the signature of OBM Director J. Pari Sabety, the mostly gloomy report said the future will be a "continued struggle for both Ohio's economy and the nation as a whole." On the bright side, Ohio was successful in marketing $240 million in infrastructure bonds last week, part of the $1.57 billion job stimulus package that was supported by Republican lawmakers and Strickland.

Because of two budget reductions called for by Strickland this year to close a looming budget gap and careful cash management planning, the OBMreport said Ohio was able to meet its financial obligations.

Asking Ohioans to buckle up for more of the same, budget officials said industrial and construction activity deteriorated and hinted that real consumer income and spending probably declined during the third quarter, and should be expected to decline again during the next three months.

Ohio employment is down 11,900 jobs since December, the report noted, adding that 19,300 jobs were lost since August 2007. Manufacturing decreased 1% and motor vehicles dropped 11.9%, a significant figure since one of every six jobs in Ohio is tied to the auto industry.

"Ohio employment decreased by 3,700 jobs in August, following a loss of 9,400 jobs in July. Ohio employment is down by 11,900 jobs since December and by 19,300 jobs since August 2007. The Ohio unemployment rate increased to 7.4% in August, up from 5.5% at the start of the year to the highest level since 1992." [October OBMReport]

McCain Meanders, Sends Mixed Message on Turnaround Plans

Meanwhile, John McCain spoke in Virginia with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at his side. The so-called maverick who Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said had no claim to use that moniker since he was nothing more than a "sidekick" to President Bush for eight years, said Obama is "measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and Sen. (Harry) Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq," as reported by the AP.

In stark contract to the detailed proposal Obama put on display today in Toledo, a McCain spokesman said he would not announce any specific proposals during campaign stops Monday in Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. "We will likely have further proposals this week as economic news and conditions change."

McCain, who was thrashed today by arch conservative columnist Bill Kristol, who told him to chuck his campaign because it wasn't working, made another classically erratic statement that either shows what a fighter he is or how completely clueless he is. No doubt inspired by the Monty Python skit about the knight who mocks his challenger after having lost his arms and legs in a battle with that challenger, said he likes his standing in the race.

Maybe McCain should be a little more cautious given the news from Gallup today that Democrat's election enthusiasm "far outweighs Republicans'. It reported that only 51% of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic about voting than in previous years, compared to 71% of Democrats, marking a shift from October 2004, when enthusiasm was about the same for both partisan groups.

With the soaring rhetoric that both won him support and energized his critics, Obama told his Toledo audience: "Together, we cannot fail. Together, we can overcome the broken policies and divided politics of the last eight years. Together, we can renew an economy that rewards work and rebuilds the middle class. Together, we can create millions of new jobs, and deliver on the promise of health care you can afford and education that helps your kids compete. We can do this if we come together; if we have confidence in ourselves and each other; if we look beyond the darkness of the day to the bright light of hope that lies ahead. Together, we can change this country and change this world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America."

As Ohio takes on added power with each day, the two tickets have made scores of trips here. Joe Biden, running mate to Obama, will spend Tuesday in Ohio, where he has planned stops in several Appalachian communities, which harbor Reagan Democrats and those undecided voters referenced above.

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