Obama to deliver economic speech Thursday in Ohio

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to deliver an economics speech Thursday in the key swing state of Ohio, drawing sharp distinctions between his vision for the country and that of presidential challenger Mitt Romney. The speech at a community college in Cleveland comes in the wake of bad economic news for the president, including an uptick in unemployment.

Obama's campaign said Tuesday Obama would define the election as a choice between his and Romney's plans for the next four years. It said Romney's vision is based on policies that precipitated the most recent recession such as more tax cuts for the wealthy and fewer rules for Wall Street.

Romney, eager to make the election a referendum on Obama, also plans to campaign in Ohio Thursday at a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati.