DaytonDailyNews.com

CINCINNATI — Just about everybody in the crowd of 27,000 raised their hand Sunday, Nov. 2 when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama asked how many of them earn less than $250,000 a year.

"That, by the way, includes 98 percent of small businesses and 99.9 percent of plumbers," he said, getting a laugh from the crowd at his final Ohio stop of the day.

"No matter what John McCain may claim, here are the facts: If you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime," Obama said at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium.

It was a day of huge crowds for Obama: 60,000 in Columbus and an estimated 80,000 in Cleveland.

In Cincinnati, Obama continued to link McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. He said the country cannot afford "four more years of the same old, tired, stale, worn out, threadbare" policies of giving more to the rich and assuming "that prosperity trickles down to everyone else."

He also returned repeatedly to his campaign's twin themes: the need for change and for hope.

"In two days, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope."

He said everyone has to take responsibility for rebuilding the nation, that the president alone cannot do it.

Republican Phyllis Napier, 56, of Mt. Vernon said she's voting for Obama.

"We just need to have our status lifted on the world stage," Napier said. "On the economy I do believe his plan can work."

Rain doesn't dampen Cleveland gathering

A gentle rain didn't discourage Obama or supporters as they gathered on a grassy downtown mall near Lake Erie for the biggest rally of Obama's Ohio campaign for president.

"A new day is coming," Obama said as the rain started. "Sunshine is on the way."

With a little more than 24 hours to go before Election Day, Obama campaigned with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, who rarely are on stage with him.

Bruce Springsteen warmed up the crowd in Cleveland.

Alex Conant, Republican National Committee spokesman, dismissed Obama's pledges to produce a better government.

"If you want more limited government, with lower taxes and a spending freeze, vote for McCain," Conant said in a prepared statement.

Karen Felix, an Obama volunteer neighborhood coordinator from suburban Rocky River, won't take that advice.

"I believe in this guy," said Felix. She said she had been attracted to Obama since his 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention.

"This guy is not going to make the country better," she said. "He's going to make the planet better."

Tyrone Robinson and his wife, Deborah, came downtown from suburban Maple Heights. Robinson said it is an "historic" election.

"This man is not ... for black people," said Robinson. "He is ... for all people."

Columbus supporters like plans, demeanor

In Columbus, Carolyn Stinson of Columbus said she supports Obama because of his plans for education, health care and Iraq as well as his demeanor.

"I just like his calmness, his ability to listen and ability to decipher before jumping into things," Stinson said. She said Obama's tax plan isn't a page out of Robin Hood; rather "it's a matter of everybody paying their fair share."

A Columbus Dispatch poll on Sunday showed Obama ahead, 52-46 percent. The mail-in poll of 2,164 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Obama broke little new ground in his speeches, although he did try out a few new lines. Repeating again that Republican John McCain would usher in a third term for President Bush, Obama told the crowd in Columbus, "He hasn't been a maverick. He's been a sidekick. He's like Cato to the Green Lantern."