Obama, Clinton Use Florida Swing to Bolster Their Support

Obama, on the other hand, cannot seem to get over his struggles with working-class voters. "I think he has a problem with the blue-collar worker and relating to that worker," McEntee said.

Obama spent Wednesday along the Interstate 4 corridor, a heavily populated swath in central Florida, as part of an effort to introduce him to Democratic voting blocs that may not know him well. In Kissimmee, outside Orlando, he held a town hall meeting in a Puerto Rican neighborhood. On Thursday, Obama will speak at a Boca Raton synagogue, and on Friday he is to deliver a speech about Cuba and Latin America in Miami.

Obama largely ignored the question of whether Florida's results should be counted, assuring supporters in Kissimmee that the state will be represented in Denver.

At the Tampa rally, Obama credited Clinton as a worthy opponent, but his main focus was on McCain, who has held an edge in this GOP-leaning state, and who has been a frequent presence.

McCain spoke in Miami on Tuesday, vowing to continue the Cuba trade embargo, while jabbing Obama for saying that as president, he would meet with Cuban President Ra¿l Castro. Obama is expected to rebut McCain directly in his Friday speech, but he fired a first shot in Tampa on Wednesday.

"He has been spending the last week describing his foreign policy by explaining who he won't talk to," Obama said. "That's your foreign policy? He basically wants to perpetuate the same errors George Bush has made."

He also traded barbs with McCain over ethics. "We need a president who sees the government not as a tool to enrich friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American," Obama said in Tampa.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds countered by challenging Obama's assertion that federal lobbyists did contribute or play an active role in his campaign. "John McCain has an unmatched record of fighting the influence of special interests," Bounds said.