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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday pushed for a windfall-profits tax to fund $1,000 emergency rebate checks for consumers besieged by high energy costs, a counter to Republican rival John McCain's call for more offshore drilling in such coastal states as Florida.

The pitch for putting some of the economic burden of $4-a-gallon gasoline on the oil industry served a dual purpose for Obama:

It allowed him to talk up an economic issue, seen by many as a strength for Democrats and a weakness for Republicans, and at the same time respond to criticism from McCain that Obama's opposition to offshore drilling leads to higher prices at the pump.

In linking McCain to the unpopular President Bush, Obama struck a theme from Ronald Reagan's successful 1980 campaign against President Jimmy Carter by asking a town-hall audience in St. Petersburg: "Do you think you are better off than you were four years ago or eight years ago?"

Obama primed the crowd by noting new government figures showing 51,000 jobs lost last month and citing 460,000 jobs lost over the last seven months. He tied other bad economic news from the Bush administration to McCain and offered his energy plan as one route to relief.

"This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months," Obama said during a two-day campaign swing in Florida. "It will be enough to cover the entire increase in your heating bills."

McCain was in Florida, too, speaking to the National Urban League's annual conference and criticizing Obama as not supportive of education initiatives that would help underprivileged students. Obama was scheduled to address the predominantly black group on Saturday.

The candidates entered Florida as a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday showed the race there essentially tied, with Obama at 46 percent and McCain at 44 percent.

The poll also showed that McCain had gained strength with independents over the last month, holding a 46-41 lead in July compared with a 47-37 Obama advantage in June.