Obama asks U.S. voters to "turn the page" While He & John McCain attacke each other's economic plans

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama Monday attacked each other's economic plans as wrong for the current downturn as they launched an eight-day sprint to Election Day.

Trailing in the polls, McCain appeared with a team of economic advisers at a Cleveland hotel and vowed to quickly take steps to restore confidence in the wilting U.S. stock market, keep people in their homes and create jobs if elected on November 4.

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Obama, enjoying a lead in national polls and in many battleground states, said in a speech to be delivered in Canton, Ohio, that it was time to "turn the page" from policies pushed by the outgoing Bush administration.

The two candidates were making their case in Ohio, a state that has been critical to Republican presidential victories in the last two elections.

Obama holds a lead in Ohio and in several other states that President George W. Bush won in 2004, putting Arizona Sen. McCain in a perilous position.

Obama held steady with a 5-point lead over McCain among likely U.S. voters nationally in a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national tracking poll released Monday.

McCain said electing Obama would leave a "dangerous threesome" of Democrats in charge of the U.S. government, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who would need to raise taxes to pay for ambitious spending plans.

"This election comes down to how you want your hard-earned money spent. Do you want to keep it and invest it in your future, or have it taken by the most liberal person to ever run for the presidency and the Democratic leaders who have been running Congress for the past two years," he said.

HUGH RALLIES

Fresh from huge rallies in Colorado Sunday, Illinois Sen. Obama laid blame for the deepening financial crisis on Bush and said McCain's economic approach would mirror the president's.

He took aim at McCain's proposal for cuts in corporate tax rates and his opposition to rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, saying they represented a "tired, old" approach on the economy.

"In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street," Obama was to say in Canton.

The Ohio speech has been billed by the Obama campaign as a "closing argument" for the candidate and one he will emphasize in a 30-minute prime-time television advertisement on Wednesday.

McCain, trying to make a comeback after losing his footing during the financial crisis, attempted to make up lost ground on economic issues. Majorities of Americans say in opinion polls that they trust Obama more to handle the U.S. economy.

McCain said his approach would be to get government spending under control and cut taxes to encourage people to invest in the stock markets or buy a home. Obama's approach, he said, would increase spending and raise taxes to pay for it.

"This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is that he thinks taxes have been too low, and I think that spending has been too high," McCain said.

Among his economic advisers were two people he passed over to become his vice presidential running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama on Monday called on voters to "turn the page" on the policies of the Bush administration as he emphasized his message of change in a closing argument for the presidential campaign.

With eight days left before Election Day, the Illinois senator laid blame for the deepening financial crisis on U.S. President George W. Bush and said Republican presidential candidate John McCain's approach on the economy would mirror Bush's.

"Sen. McCain has served this country honorably. And he can point to a few moments over the past eight years where he has broken from George Bush -- on torture, for example," Obama said in excerpts from a speech he is to deliver later in Canton, Ohio.

"He deserves credit for that. But when it comes to the economy -- when it comes to the central issue of this election -- the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way," Obama said.

The Ohio speech has been billed by the Obama campaign as a "closing argument" for the candidate and one he will emphasize in a 30-minute prime-time television advertisement on Wednesday.

Obama, seeking to become the first black U.S. president, is leading McCain in both national opinion polls and in surveys of many of the crucial battleground states that will decide the election.

Obama held steady with a 5-point lead over McCain among likely U.S. voters nationally in a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national tracking poll released on Monday.

McCain, an Arizona senator, has described himself and running mate Sarah Palin as mavericks and said he has shown a willingness throughout his career to break with his Republican Party, including with Bush. McCain has said Obama does not have a track record of bucking his own party.

But Obama took at aim at McCain's proposal for cuts in corporate tax rates and his opposition to rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, saying they represented a "tired, old" approach on the economy.

"In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street," Obama told voters.