The Champion for the Middle Class - Boston Globe

ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- In last night's debate, Hillary Clinton sought to emphasize her fitness to be commander-in-chief, but today in Ohio she is campaigning for a different job: champion-in-chief for the working class.

Knowing that blue-collar workers in this blue-collar state are key to her survival as a presidential candidate, Clinton is trying to demonstrate her mastery of the economy, economic development, and job creation as she stumps across Ohio ahead of Tuesday's primary here.

Hosting an economic summit in Eastern Ohio, she showed off her technocratic side -- talking about Denmark's windmills, Germany's successes with solar power, the $12,000 per year the average family pays for a health care policy, and the particulars of the mortgage crisis.

"It's time that we had a president who's going to be a fighter and a champion for our people again," Clinton said, adding that she will get up every day in the White House and ask, "What are we going to do today to improve the lives of hard-working Americans?"

Not coincidentally, there was also a whiff of protectionism in the air here at Ohio University Zanesville as Clinton, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and a host of other political and business leaders held a pow-wow to promote Clinton's candidacy.

Clinton vowed to "close every tax loophole that gives one penny of your tax dollars to any company that exports jobs." At least two of the panelists said it was critical that people buy products made in the United States. "If we cannot buy American, fix America first, there's something wrong," said Gary Dwyer, secretary-treasurer for the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council. Clinton replied, "You're absolutely right we have to create a new ethic."

With Clinton and Barack Obama expressing deep concern about trade deals and the consequences of globalization, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told officials and business leaders in Mexico today that enacting protectionist trade policies would be severely damaging at home and abroad. "Protectionist policies would be devastating for our economy and to economies around the world," he said, according to Reuters.