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CHANDLER - President Barack Obama used cranes, earth-moving equipment and a computer chip maker's massive plant construction project in suburban Phoenix as a backdrop to hammer home his ideas for boosting American manufacturing and improving the economic prospects of Americans.

The president said Intel's $5 billion project to build a high-volume semi-conductor factory in Chandler represents the type of high-tech jobs the country needs and an America that makes products that are used across the world.

"We have got to come together and restore the basic American promise," Obama told several thousand people as he promoted his idea to eliminate tax incentives that make it more attractive for companies to ship jobs overseas.

The president's three-hour stop in metro Phoenix briefly put Arizona into the spotlight of presidential politics. Democrats say the state long known for conservatism will fall into their column during this presidential election cycle. Republicans, however, maintain the state is still solidly Republican.

While Arizona has been a bit player during the past two presidential elections, Democrats believe the conditions are right for them, citing the recall election defeat of the Republican lawmaker who wrote Arizona's 2010 immigration law and the seating of Democratic mayors in Phoenix and Tucson. Voters are nearly split in thirds among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

The crowd erupted in loud applause when Obama mentioned former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned Wednesday to focus on her recovery from the injuries she suffered more than a year ago from a shooting at a political event in Tucson.

"Michelle and I are going to be thinking of her as she continues her recovery here in Arizona," the president said. "She loves this state."

Obama also spoke briefly with Gov. Jan Brewer at an airport before his speech and gave the governor a critique of her book. The president objected to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her.

The governor, who didn't attend the president's speech in another part of the Phoenix metro area, briefly discussed the state's economic recovery with the president and noted that she and the president differ on what they believe is best for the country.

"Don't be mistaken, I'm bullish on our nation's future," Brewer said. "But I'm convinced the path the president has pursued is the wrong one. I hope he takes some of the lessons of Arizona back with him to Washington."

While the economic struggles of Americans were at the heart of Obama's speech, the president didn't comment on the state's own economic woes and its struggling housing market.

With steel framing from the factory construction in the background, the president said Americans want financial security so they can support their families, help their kids get through college and sock away enough money to retire with dignity.

"We have to renew American values - fair play, shared responsibility," Obama said.