By Caren Bohan
CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Sen. Hillary Clinton sharpened herattack on Friday against rival Barack Obama before new contestsfor the Democratic presidential nomination, casting herself asa champion of the U.S. middle class and saying voters faced achoice between "speeches and solutions."
Clinton, under pressure to slow Obama's momentum aftereight consecutive losses, honed her economic message to appealto middle- and lower-income voters before the next round ofDemocratic contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii on Tuesday andTexas and Ohio on March 4.
"It is time we had a president who was a fighter, a doerand a champion for the American middle class," Clinton said asshe visited a popular Cincinnati restaurant, Skyline Chili, foran economic round-table.
"I am a candidate of, from and for the middle class ofAmerica," added Clinton, who grew up in a comfortablemiddle-class suburb of Chicago, then went on to attendWellesley College and Yale Law School. She often talks at hercampaign events about how she relied on government loans tohelp fund her education.
The New York senator stressed her proposals for a 90-daymoratorium on home foreclosures and a cap on credit cardinterest rates, and the elimination of tax breaks for companiesthat export jobs overseas. She has also vowed to work toeliminate tax breaks that let Wall Street money managers paylower tax rates.
"We are going to change the tax code. It is wrong that aninvestment money manager on Wall Street making $50 million(25.5 million pounds) a year gets a lower tax rate than ateacher, a nurse, a truck driver, an auto worker making $50,000a year," Clinton said.
The former first lady, who would be the first female U.S.president, tried to use Obama's skill as a public speakeragainst him, again accusing him of offering rhetoric ratherthan substance.
"This primary election offers a very big choice to thevoters of Ohio," she said. "You can choose speeches orsolutions."
Clinton's criticisms came as a new poll showed her trailingObama in Texas by 6 percentage points. The American ResearchGroup survey, which had a margin of error of 4 percentagepoints, showed Clinton with 42 percent support versus 48percent for Obama.
Both Texas and Ohio are considered "must win" states forClinton, who is lagging Obama in the race for pledged delegatesawarded by the state-by-state contests to pick a Democraticnominee for president. The delegates will choose the Democraticcandidate at a nominating convention this summer.
Clinton has spent the past several days campaigning inthose two states, delaying a push into Wisconsin even thoughthat state holds its primary on Tuesday. Clinton will begin afour-day swing through Wisconsin on Saturday.
Obama, campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where a newpoll showed him with a 5-point lead over Clinton, rejected herattacks and accused her of being part of the problem inWashington.
'GAMESMANSHIP'
"I understand Senator Clinton periodically when she isfeeling down launches attacks as a way of trying to boost herappeal. But I think this kind of gamesmanship is not what theAmerican people are looking for," the Illinois senator said.
Obama scored another big endorsement, winning the supportof the 1.9 million-member Service Employees InternationalUnion, whose president, Andy Stern, said the executive boardhad overwhelmingly favoured the Illinois senator.
"We do think he has the experience and the vision we needin our next president," Stern said.
Republican front-runner John McCain also scored a bigendorsement -- that of former President George H.W. Bush, thefather of the current president. McCain told a news conferencehe would travel to Houston on Monday to meet with the elderBush.
McCain is almost certain to be the Republican presidentialnominee for the November general election after defeating hismain rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and winninghis endorsement. McCain's nearest rival is former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee, who is running a distant second.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and John Whitesidesin Wisconsin; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by PeterCooney)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/
