Obama spoke to an electric, racially diverse crowd estimated at 6,800 at Youngstown State University, punctuating his comments about the economy, foreign policy and other issues with the same introductory line: “If you are ready for change ...”

“There's a moment in the life of every generation where that spirit (of hope) has to come through ... where we decide we're not going to settle for what the cynics tell us we have to accept, where we instead reach for what is possible,” he said to chants of “O-BAM-A.”

It was the Illinois senator's first public appearance in Ohio leading up to the critical March 4 primary in the Buckeye State, following almost a week of campaign visits by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, her husband and daughter. Mrs. Clinton is expected in Youngstown Tuesday night for a rally and in southern Ohio next week to discuss problems facing Appalachia.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona is opening campaign office across the state. He is scheduled to appear Tuesday night at a rally starting at 7:30 Downtown at the Renaissance Hotel's Hayes grand ballroom; Wednesday the all-but-presumptive GOP nominee takes his campaign to Greene County.

Political analysts say Clinton must win Ohio if she hopes to defeat the hard-charging Obama – especially if he wins the Democratic contests today in Wisconsin and Hawaii as expected.

Before today's rally, Obama toured the RTI International titanium plant in Niles near Youngstown, where he downplayed accusations raised by the Clinton campaign that Obama plagiarized phrases from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

The New York Times pointed to similarities between a speech by Obama in Wisconsin on Saturday with remarks from the 2006 gubernatorial campaign by Patrick, including Obama's use of the phrase, “Don't tell me words don't matter” in response to Clinton's criticism that he is a smooth talker but not a problem solver.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said it raises questions about the strength of Obama's candidacy — his rhetorical skills.

Obama told reporters in Niles that he didn't think the matter is “too big of a deal,” saying Patrick occasionally uses his words and that he's used Patrick's words at times – and that even Clinton has “borrowed” his words on occasion.

When asked whether he should have credited Patrick, Obama replied, “I'm sure I should have. Didn't this time.”

But Obama argued that borrowed phrases pales in comparison to such issues as the moribund economy in Ohio, which continues to shed jobs. The Youngstown metropolitan area alone has lost 36 percent of its manufacturing jobs during the past 10 years, after two decades of job losses from steel-mill closings.

Citing a 2006 report by the Economic Policy Institute, Omaba said the North American Free Trade Agreement that Clinton supported in the 1990s cost Ohio nearly 50,000 jobs alone. Obama said he could not stem the loss of all jobs but would do more to discourage outsourcing, including tax breaks for companies that hire U.S. workers.

In response, the Clinton campaign arranged for reporters to interview R. Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He charged that Obama “did nothing” to help prevent Maytag from closing a plant in 2004 in Galesburg, Ill. – a move that eliminated 1,600 jobs.

But Buck Campbell, 60, a research technician from North Jackson near Youngstown who has worked at the RTI plant for 18 years, said he trusts Obama more than Clinton to make good on promises to help create jobs.

Many of those interviewed at the rally in Youngstown said they also prefer Obama's approach to politics.

“Hillary Clinton is a good candidate, but it's time for a fresh face on the scene,” said Kelly Russ, an 18-year-old freshman at Youngstown State from nearby Warren.

During his 47-minute speech, Obama rejected the objections that Clinton and other critics have raised about his candidacy – such as he lacks experience and substance – and said he makes “no apologies for getting people excited” about politics.

“They are trying to feed you with a cynicism that says, ‘You should just go back to sitting on the couch and complaining about how bad politics is,' instead of coming out to rallies like this one and getting involved,” Obama said.

“These people are not in the samples,” Binning said, surveying today’s crowd in Youngstown.

mniquette@dispatch.com