On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama proposed four steps to create jobs and to cushion Americans against the effects of the economic downturn. Speaking in Toledo, Ohio, Senator Obama proposed a ninety-day moratorium on most home foreclosures.

Sen. Barack Obama: “For those Americans in danger of losing their homes, today I’m also proposing a three-month moratorium on foreclosures. If you’re a bank — if you’re a bank or a lender that is getting money from the rescue plan that passed Congress, and your customers are making a good-faith effort to make their mortgage payments and re-negotiate their mortgage, you will not be able to foreclose on their home for three months. We need to give people the breathing room to get back on their feet.”

Other parts of Obama’s plan include tax credits for firms that create new jobs, penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts and to eliminate income taxes on unemployment benefits.

Sen. Barack Obama: “But today I’m calling on Congress to pass a plan so that the IRS will mail out the first round of those tax cuts as soon as possible. We should get you a rebate in your pockets to deal with heating your homes this winter, making sure that — making sure that you can afford the new coat for your child or maybe even a new computer to help them in school. We should also extend and expand unemployment benefits to those Americans who have lost their jobs and are having a tough time out there finding new ones in this weak economy.”

Advisers to John McCain say the Arizona senator will make a series of new proposals for the economy today. McCain’s handling of the economic crisis is coming under increasing scrutiny. Political analyst Darrell West of the Brookings Institute said McCain’s campaign strategy of attacking Obama has backfired.

Darrell West: “I think the big thing that has led to John McCain’s demise in the surveys has been the financial meltdown. But it also is a time period where McCain has been on the attack against Barack Obama, and at that very time his own poll numbers have dropped and the favorability ratings of Barack Obama actually have improved compared to McCain. So McCain needs to change the tone of this campaign. The negative attacks haven’t appeared to work very effectively. And so, I think over the closing days of this election he really needs to lay out his own positive vision of what he wants to accomplish as president.”