Candidates Shift Focus to Economy, Center Ground

The presidential hopefuls are turning their focus to the home front—and the economy in particular—in the wake of Barack Obama's foreign trip, ABC News reports. John McCain criticized America's dependence on foreign oil yesterday while speaking in front of an oil derrick in California, while Obama hosted a forum of economic heavyweights in Washington that had the feel of a Cabinet meeting.

Both candidates are jockeying for the center ground as they try to tackle the issue foremost on voters' minds. Prominent Republicans were invited to Obama's economic summit—including two former Bush administration officials now on the candidate's advisory team—while McCain has stepped up his populist language and begun targeting Wall Street.