Economy, culture wars vie for election spotlight

LEBANON, Ohio (Reuters) - With jobs disappearing, banks failing and the housing market a mess, Democrats were certain the U.S. presidential election would be all about the economy. Suddenly all anyone talks about is faith, family and female voters.

Call it the Sarah Palin effect.

The surprise choice of the little-known Alaskan governor as running mate by Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the November 4 election has turned the campaign debate into something else entirely.

Opinion polls show the economy the top concern with the two main presidential candidates running neck and neck.

Democrat Barack Obama has tried to paint his rival McCain with the same blame he heaps on Republican President George W. Bush for causing rising prices and stagnant incomes.

Alaska Gov. Palin, who would be the first female U.S. vice president, has made a big splash in the 12 days since her selection as McCain's running mate.

Women with children debate Palin's ability to run for office while raising five children. Conservatives applaud her anti-abortion credentials. Newspapers run interviews with family, friends and pastors attesting to Palin's fundamentalist Christian faith.

DEBATE SHIFT

The shift in debate from one about the nation's economic malaise to the social issues of abortion, gay rights and religion that dominated previous elections dismays undecided voter Donna Moloney, a Cincinnati, Ohio, chiropractor.

"How can you not talk about the economy and health care? Instead it's going to be about abortion," lamented Moloney, 46.

Moloney said she leans Republican on economic issues but now might support Obama simply because she does not want a return to the cultural wars that marked the 2004 election.

"Why do we obsess about these things?" she asked.

Voters who turned out to hear McCain and Palin at a rally this week near Cincinnati said they were thrilled by the strong conservative values Palin had brought to the ticket.

"Pro-life is huge for us," said Randall Stigall, 39, as he waited with his wife for the rally to begin. "Her being added to the ticket has reinvigorated the conservative base."

Stigall, an IT professional, shrugged off concerns about the economy.

"I value life over the economy, first of all. Everyone knows the economy is cyclical, we have ups and downs. We'll start to climb again," he said.

Andy Laperriere, an economic and political analyst at Washington think-tank International Strategy & Investment Group, said even if the economy was the top concern, its performance would factor little in how people voted.

'SWING VOTERS'

"The more free-market you are, the more you realize how little John McCain or Barack Obama or George Bush have to do with what's going on in the economy," Laperriere said.

Small business owners may vote Republican for lower taxes, while union members may trust Democrats will improve health care, he said. But swing voters -- those in the middle who typically decide elections -- are a different story.

"For the swing voter, the 15 percent of the public who changes their votes around, they're going to look around, say 'Things stink, it's time to change and get these Republicans out' and they may vote Democrat," he said.

Undecided voter Michael Stegemoller, 22, is the sort of voter the Democrats are trying to reach. His biggest concerns?

"The way the economy is going, and gas prices," he said during McCain's appearance in Lebanon.

His wife Nicole Hogan is skeptical about McCain. "He's for the upper-class people, isn't he?" she said. Neither she nor her husband wants to be distracted by abortion, teenage pregnancy or other moral issues they believe should remain personal.

North Carolina State University religion professor Jason Bivins suspects many voters feel the same way.

"Maybe I'm an optimist, but I actually believe most voters are really sick of cultural divisiveness," said Bivins, an Obama supporter whose book "Religion of Fear" explored the power of Christian conservatives in America. "I'm not convinced the economy is going to be sidelined."

(Editing by Howard Goller and David Wiessler)