Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama went after his potential Republican rival for the White House on Tuesday, saying it's not former POW Sen. John McCain's patriotism that should be questioned, but his policies.

At a 2,000-person rally in Wilkes University's gymnasium, Obama responded to attacks lobbed by McCain, who recently has questioned Obama's foreign policy credentials.

"He's offering the same four years of George Bush policies that have gotten us in this pickle," Obama said. As examples, he cited McCain's commitment to continuing the war in Iraq and the Republican's calls for Bush's 2003 tax cuts — which Democrats slam as nothing but a windfall for the wealthiest Americans — to be made permanent.

Obama later blamed the war and the Bush tax cuts for forcing reductions in federal funding for state programs, such as those providing health care for senior citizens.

"Don't cut taxes during wartime," Obama said.

This small Pennsylvania city, filled with signs of a bygone coal era as well as college campuses full of young voters, became the center of the Democratic battle for president for a few hours Tuesday.

Just a few blocks away, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, wooed supporters at an afternoon event at King's College.

Clinton, who has family connections to the area, focused on jobs in her speech, citing the record of her husband Bill Clinton's administration, according to media reports.

After weeks of trailing Clinton in Pennsylvania, Obama appears to be closing the gap to some extent in polls of likely Democratic voters. Rasmussen released a poll Tuesday showing Obama pulling within 5 percentage points — 47 for Clinton and 42 for Obama — compared to Clinton's 10-point lead last week. SurveyUSA said Clinton's lead is 12 points, a decline of 7 percentage points during the past three weeks.

Clinton still leads Obama among voters who consider the economy and health care the most important issues, according to SurveyUSA.

The Pennsylvania primary is April 22. Many experts doubt the results will be decisive and instead expect the race to continue into June and the nine remaining primaries.

Obama has a nearly insurmountable lead over Clinton in pledged delegates, but almost certainly cannot win the 2,024 needed to secure a nomination outright. For her part, Clinton must convince the majority of Democratic superdelegates to defect from Obama and support her as a more electable candidate. A big win in Pennsylvania could help her make her case.

On the economy, Obama pushed Tuesday his proposals to pump $150 million into alternative energy development, saying it would be a way to create jobs in places where manufacturing jobs have been lost, such as the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre region.

"Some jobs have been lost to automation, and the economy has gone global," Obama said. "Not all of the same jobs are going to come back. As we have time and again, Americans will have to adapt."

He also touched on gun control.

"I believe in the Second Amendment," Obama said. "I believe in the lawful use of firearms for hunters and sportsmen.

"I also believe that we should tighten up our background checks and make sure guns stay out of the hands of criminals, the mentally ill and children," he said, adding that loopholes for purchasing firearms at gun shows should be closed and weak gun tracking measures should be strengthened.

Earlier, Clinton addressed the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO convention in Philadelphia. She restated her commitment to campaign despite growing calls by prominent Democrats for her to drop out.

She told the crowd she strongly opposed NAFTA while she was first lady. NAFTA was a major policy initiative of her husband's administration in the 1990s and her claim has been disputed by Obama and former Bill Clinton aides.

"I was in many meetings starting in the '92 campaign. I raised questions," she said. "I did it in the White House again, in meetings with as many different audiences in the White House in the decision-making process that I could speak to. But the president made a decision. As part of an administration, I believe you support the president, and I did."

Obama is scheduled to address the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO this morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com