SUN PRAIRIE — Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius asked Madison community members a question Wednesday, similar to one first proposed by Ronald Reagan in 1980.

“Are you better off now than you were eight years ago?” Sebelius asked.

Sebelius, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., attempted to draw a sharp distinction between the Illinois senator and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

“There couldn’t be a more different vision of the future of America than the ones that are talked about by the two candidates running for president,” Sebelius said.

Amid the financial crisis, Sebelius focused on the economy, reminding the large number of senior citizens present that Obama will not tax seniors making less than $50,000 a year.

She also said Obama will cut taxes by a minimum of $1,000 for working-class families.

Sebelius then criticized McCain for supporting tax cuts for big oil and President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, going on to blast the Arizona senator for saying this week that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who attended the event, mocked McCain’s recent use of the word “change” to describe his campaign.

“His idea of change, economically, is to continue the Bush policies — policies he didn’t even support earlier, but he has wholeheartedly endorsed as he has run for president,” Doyle said.

Republicans are aiming at keeping voters from the polls, Doyle said, because it may work to their disadvantage.

Doyle stressed the importance of Wisconsin in the Electoral College vote, saying the state, which held the most closely-contested race in the 2004 election, could make or break Obama.

“We know this: If 100 percent of eligible voters turn out to vote there is no question that Barack Obama will win Wisconsin,” Doyle said.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk was also present at the event. She noted the recent surge of foreclosures in Dane County and characterized McCain as out of touch.

“Now I ask you, which of the candidates running for president doesn’t know how many houses he owns?” Falk said, referring to an August interview in which McCain said he was unsure of how many houses he and his wife Cindy own.

This attack against McCain has been repeated by several Democrats over the past few weeks.

Students for McCain Co-Chair Allison Nelson said she understands the reason for the attacks but dismissed the effect such attacks have on voters.

“When it comes down to it, it’s not going to affect what he stands for or what he’s going to do,” Nelson said.

Both Sebelius and Doyle said they can better govern their states together under an Obama administration than a McCain or Bush administration.

“We will do a lot better as governors of our own states if we have a partner in Washington, if we finally have an ally, who sees the world through the same kind of lens that Jim and I do,” Sebelius said.