Politics / economy Candidates Shift Focus to Economy, Center Ground Both turn their attention to finding solutions for housing, energy crisis By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Jul 29, 2008 1:48 PM CDT Copied Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, leaves after a meeting in Washington, Monday, July 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) The presidential hopefuls are turning their focus to the home front—and the economy in particular—in the wake of Barack Obama's foreign trip, ABC News reports. John McCain criticized America's dependence on foreign oil yesterday while speaking in front of an oil derrick in California, while Obama hosted a forum of economic heavyweights in Washington that had the feel of a Cabinet meeting. Both candidates are jockeying for the center ground as they try to tackle the issue foremost on voters' minds. Prominent Republicans were invited to Obama's economic summit—including two former Bush administration officials now on the candidate's advisory team—while McCain has stepped up his populist language and begun targeting Wall Street. (More economy stories.) Report an error