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Obama takes sales pitch to Ohio

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor January 14, 2009 01:38 PM

He's tried to sell his economic recovery package in Congress. On Friday, President-elect Barack Obama will take his pitch to the heartland.

His office announced this afternoon that he will go to Bedford Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland, to meet with workers and discuss his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which could total $775 billion or more and aims to save or create three to four million jobs.

Obama will tour Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company, which makes parts used in wind turbines, in keeping with his alternative energy push.

The visit, the first campaign-like event since the election, comes in the state that has been the bellwether for presidential politics for decades.

Ohio's governor, Ted Strickland, added his voice today to a coalition of labor and progressive groups lobbying for the stimulus package.

“Just in Ohio, in order for us to have a balanced budget for 2010 and 2011, without federal assistance, I would have to cut state government spending by 25 percent – an unthinkable thing to contemplate," he said in a conference call organized by the Campaign for Jobs and Economic Recovery Now. "This is not the result of mismanagement; it is the result of a collapse within our economy."

"Without aid, Ohio and other states will cut jobs that provide vital education and healthcare for our people. The states need to be looked upon as economic engines. We do not hold onto money. Any resources coming to us will go out quickly and immediately to provide healthcare, unemployment compensation, and other kinds of subsidies which provide essential services. That’s why I am and other governors are urging Congress to provide assistance to the states, that will be of a temporary nature, to help us get through this recession,” he added.

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