Taking aim at primaries in Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin, and hoping to win the endorsement of John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have adopted a populist line in their campaign speeches.
Now that Obama has moved ahead in the delegate count, Clinton needs to win big in Ohio and Texas, delegate-rich states where she holds comfortable leads in the polls. Clinton also has a fighting chance in Wisconsin and has increased her campaign efforts there, though she trails Obama.
Ohio and Wisconsin are Rust Belt states that have been staggered by plant closings and the subprime mortgage crisis. Obama and Clinton have tailored their messages in recent days to address voters affected by the economic jolts and now sound a lot more like their former rival, John Edwards. Obama and Clinton are seeking his endorsement.
“I’m announcing an agenda to rein in the special interests and save the American people at least $55 billion a year,” Clinton told workers Thursday at a General Motors plant in northeastern Ohio, where she talked about rising gasoline and food prices and shrinking health care coverage. “Money that can go back into your pockets. Money we can use to create new jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, make college affordable and so much more.”
Obama told GM workers at a southern Wisconsin plant that his $210 billion economic plan would create millions of jobs.
Obama abandoned his usual rousing stump speech, telling the crowd to bear with him because he was about to deliver a longer address with fewer applause lines.
“What I really want to do is talk from the heart about where I want to take this economy,” he said.
Economic and political analysts say the two candidates have little choice but to tailor their messages for the Rust Belt states.
“I believe the issues they are speaking about are of national importance, but they have stronger traction in these manufacturing states,” said economist Thomas Palley, who runs the Economics for Democratic and Open Societies Project.
Veteran Democratic strategist Tad Devine said Obama and Clinton are campaigning in places that were once favorable to Edwards. But he believes their motives for talking about working-class issues extend far beyond the next few primaries.
“In large measure, the reason they are doing this is that the economy is just a dominant issue,” Devine said. “They are realizing that to begin winning the economic argument is the key to winning this election.”
