STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) -- Barack Obama, campaigning in Michigan, says he will set up what he calls an "advanced manufacturing fund" to help replace lost factory jobs.
Obama has stepped up his criticism of likely Republican nominee John McCain. In a speech to union workers and their families at a community college, Obama said he agrees with McCain that many manufacturing jobs will not be coming back, but he says the Arizona senator is wrong "in suggesting there's nothing we can do to replace those jobs or create new ones."
Obama says he wants to double the funding, to 90 million dollars, of an already established program designed to help manufacturing growth. He says he wants to spend another 100 million dollars to create a program that would award grants to companies that research ways to develop and expand products.
Michigan is rich in so-called Reagan Democrats, voters who abandon the party when it nominates candidates they consider too liberal on social issues. Political strategists say it is a must-win state for Obama should he take the Democratic party's presidential nomination.
