The Democrats in Columbus second that sentiment. "There isn’t a stunt, a gimmick or an attack ad in the book that can save John McCain and the Republicans if Ohio voters walk into the voting booth thinking about their jobs, their mortgages, their gas tanks or their grocery bills,” Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Alex Goepfert wrote in an email.

But, as Ohio GOP spokesman John McClelland told me, "John Kerry made the economy his central issue in Ohio four years ago, and he lost. Ohio’s economy will not be revived by raising taxes on small businesses and taxing energy, and that’s exactly what Barack Obama plans to do."

The Florida Republican Party also downplayed the notion the economy will help the Democrats there. "It doesn't necessarily help them," says Katie Gordon, a spokeswoman. "I can't speak for Senator McCain, but we've supported tax cuts and we're taking on the insurance industry to lower property insurance rates. When voters go to the polls, they're going to remember that. And I think they'll remember Senator McCain has advocated that same type of platform—lower taxes and lower spending—that hit them right in their pocketbooks."

For more on what Florida's thinking, watch this video from Miami's recent Live From Main Street town hall:

—Steve Aquino