Hillary plays it cool, McCain woos NASCAR

Those expecting Hillary Clinton to rip into Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin at campaign stops in Ohio yesterday were sure to be disappointed.  Clinton didn't bite.  She played it cool, by the textbook -- focus on McCain, forget the phenom.

Campaigning in Elyria and Akron on Sunday, Clinton continued to stump for Barack Obama by reminding her own supporters that she and Obama are now on the same team.

We're all family

"Barack and I may have started out on two separate paths, but we are on one journey now," Clinton said.  "This journey will lead right to the White House."

One of the few times Clinton mentioned the Republican vice presidential nominee it was packaged with the guy on top of the ticket.

"To slightly amend my comments from Denver:  no way, no how, no McCain, no Palin," she said referencing her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

It's the economy

Calling the election a "game-changer" Clinton focused on the economy, saying that voters have the opportunity to "go beyond the failed policies of the last eight years."

"Senator McCain says our economy is fundamentally sound," she said.  "I wish he'd come here and talk to you.  All that McCain and Palin offer is four more years of the same failed policies."

This echoes a line in a new campaign ad released this morning by the Obama campaign -- although the new ad is harsher stating that McCain proposes the "same disastrous economic policies" as President Bush.

Start your engines

Meanwhile, Senator McCain was in New Hampshire wooing NASCAR fans with racing legend Richard Petty and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

"I want to thank you for your support of the men and women of the military," he told the drivers before the race. "It's uplifting to these young people."

"When I'm in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're watching you," he said. "You are their role models. You are their heroes, and they are ours. I just want to say that NASCAR heroes, competitors, and teams are supporting the men and women who are serving in a most exemplary fashion."