As Obama spoke to thousands at Shawnee State University about Ohio jobs and the economy last night, three blocks away 26-year-old Steve Estep was trying to figure out how to make his last few dollars stretch at the grocery store. He'd just spent $15 on gas and won't see a paycheck till next Tuesday.
ESTEP: I work at Applebee's. I'm a cook. I wish I had another job. This whole place, it seems like it's going down and down and down.
Estep says he's more interested in what the candidates will do to help his wallet than party affiliation this year. That's pretty typical of Scioto County- swing voters here have helped Presidents from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush win office. And with an unemployment rate of over nine percent, voters like 31-year-old Luke Haywood say the economy is the issue for him and his neighbors.
HAYWOOD: It's the most important. If you can't afford to feed your family there ain't much more important than that is there.
John McCain was in Portsmouth in July when he also hit on the economy pledging to bring new jobs to the region. Mhari Saito, 90.3.
