Economy at forefront as Obama takes fight to McCain heartland

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· Two-week tour will focus on job losses, rising prices
· Key Clinton aides join team as Hillary concedes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/09/barackobama.johnmccain
Barack Obama takes the presidential battle to the enemy today by beginning a two-week tour of contested states in which he will seek to portray himself as a more reliable tonic for America's ailing economy than his Republican party rival John McCain.

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The focus on the economy signals that he has identified American voters' fears over job losses and rising prices as the key potential battleground in November. A spate of bad news at the weekend underlined what the Obama campaign will portray as Republican mishandling of economic affairs. The unemployment rate, now at 5.5%, saw its largest monthly rise in more than 20 years, while oil rose to a record $139 a barrel and the dollar fell against other major currencies.

By starting out in North Carolina, a state that has been solidly Republican since 1976, the Democrats are flagging up their intention to take the battle to parts of the country previously seen as unwinnable. In North Carolina, and possibly also Georgia, they will be hoping to benefit from a surge in voter registration among African Americans fired up by the first black presidential candidate representing a major party.

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Senior Obama aides made clear that they intend to campaign vigorously in all 50 states, not just on the handful of hotly contested races that determined the outcome of the last two presidential elections. Obama has an in-built advantage over McCain, in that the gruelling primary contest with Clinton has bequeathed him a nationwide network of fundraisers and campaign organisers on the ground.

"We're going to be playing a lot more offence than they are," Obama's campaign manger, David Plouffe, told the Washington Post. Moves to bring experienced campaigners into the team have already begun. The New York Times reported that Patti Solis Doyle, who ran Clinton's campaign until she was ousted in February, will be the first of many Clinton aides to be taken on board.

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1. It's the economy stupid...BIG TIME!