McCain tours heartland as new polls show Obama economic edge

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Fresh Quinnipiac University surveys in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin put Obama ahead, exactly six weeks from election day , and offered troubling warning signs for Republican John McCain .
But the Arizona senator sought to land fresh blows on the economy in the heartland,touring a vast, dusty construction project and a factory whichmakes nuclear power plant supplies in another battleground, Ohio .
"I know that a lot of eyes have been on Wall Street and Washington for the past week as we all process the creditcrisis," McCain said, accepting the endorsement of a localconstruction union in Strongsville, outside Cleveland .
"But I want the people here in Ohio to know that I have notforgotten the economy on Main Street ," McCain said.
McCain vowed to create employment with pro-growth economicpolicies, and argued that Obama's plans would result in highertaxes and "kill jobs."
The latest poll average by RealClearPolitics.com gives McCain a 1.8 percent edge in Ohio, a microcosm of the USelectoral map with urban areas which lean Democratic and suburbsand country regions which are more conservative.
Ohio is a vital state in any route to the White House , and was decisive in 2004 in returning President George W. Bush to power, at the expense of Democrat John Kerry .
Obama was meanwhile hunkered down in Florida , always a focal point of any candidate's bid to win over swingvoters, to prepare for Friday's first high-stakes presidentialdebate clash in Mississippi.
The new sheaf of Quinnipiac polls offered the latest sign that Obama's advantage over McCainon the economy and his strategy of tying his rival to unpopularPresident George W. Bush may be paying off.
In Colorado, Obama leads McCain by 49 to 45 percent. Last month,the Republican was up by one point in Colorado, 47-46 percent inthe Quinnipiac survey.
In Michigan, which has been badly hit by the flight of blue-collarjobs overseas, Obama leads McCain 48 to 44 percent, compared to46-42 percent on July 24.
In Minnesota, Obama held a two percentage point lead of 47 to 45percent, compared to 46 to 44 percent in late July.
In midwestern Wisconsin , Obama led by 49 to 42 percent, although his advantage hasnarrowed from 50 to 39 percent in July.
"With a lousy economy, an unpopular war and an even lesspopular Republican president, it's difficult to find voters whodon't want change," said Peter Brown, assistant director ofQuinnipiac's polling institute.
"The Wall Street meltdown while these polls were in the fieldprobably fed the public desire for change and seemed to benefit Senator Obama ," Brown said.
Obama is widely perceived as the candidate of change in the fourkey states, by 19 to 24 point margins, Quinnipiac said.
Voters in all four battlegrounds said the economy was the top issuein the November 4 election and in three of the four states saidObama was better equipped to handle it.
In Minnesota, voters were equally split on which candidate bestunderstands the economy (45 to 45 percent).
McCain was stumping in Ohio and was set to move on to Michigan on Tuesday as his vicepresidential pick Sarah Palin was taking her first steps onto the international stage on thesidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The Alaska governor was set to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai , Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former US secretary of state and foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger .
Democrats complain Palin lacks foreign policy experience and the meetings, and more world leader encounters planned forThursday, will offer her ammunition for her vice presidential debate with Democrat Joseph Biden on October 2.
Obama was preparing in Tampa, Florida , a swing district in a swing state , with top aides for Friday's debate on foreign policy, whichprovides a golden chance for each candidate to land a heavy blow.
"It's a challenging debate for us," Obama's seniorstrategist David Axelrod said, starting the game of downplaying expectations ahead of theclash.
" Senator McCain has repeatedly made the point about his extensive foreign policyexperience."