Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized for taking corporate special interest contributions, proposed new restrictions Thursday on oil, insurance, credit card, student loan and Wall Street investment companies that she said would save middle-class Americans $55 billion a year. "For seven long years, we've had a government of, by, and for the special interests, and we've had enough," the New York senator told an audience at a General Motors plant that she toured here. "It's time to level the playing field against the special interests and deliver 21st century solutions to rebuild the middle class." She spoke just a day after Sen. Barack Obama, whom she's trying to overtake in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, stopped at a GM plant in Janesville, Wis., to unveil a $210 billion economic plan to create jobs in construction and environmental industries.

The former first lady was in Ohio to press her strategy of jumping ahead to the biggest March 4 primary states - Texas and Ohio - where she still holds the lead in polls and hopes for a comeback to stop a tide that has given Obama eight straight victories since Super Tuesday. Of the 2,025 delegates needed for nomination, Obama now has 1,275; Clinton, 1,220

Her new plan appeared designed to respond to some of the sharpest criticism she has received on the campaign trail from fellow Democrats Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out just before Super Tuesday.

For instance, before the South Carolina primary in which Clinton finished third, Edwards aired pointed TV ads contrasting her practice with his refusal to take contributions from lobbyists and political action committees. Without naming Clinton, one Edwards' ad noted that one of his opponents "takes more money than anyone from Washington lobbyists."

The independent and nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reported that during the first nine months of 2007 Clinton received $567,950 from donors identified as lobbyists, the most of any of the presidential candidate.

Clinton told the GM workers, "I'm announcing an agenda to reign in the special interests and save the American people at least $55 billion a year. Money that can go back into your pockets. Money we can use to create new jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, make college affordable and so much more."

She said she would force oil companies to invest some of their record profits in high-wage, clean-energy jobs. "I'll end their special tax breaks and given them a choice: Invest some of your profits in alternative energy or we'll do it for you," she said. "People have been paying through the roof at the pump and it's time the companies paid their fair share."

In addition to earlier proposals to cap interest rates at 30 percent, Clinton said she would prohibit credit card companies from imposing hidden fees and sudden rate hikes.

She promised to stop insurance companies from refusing to cover the pre-existing conditions of their clients.

"They spend more than $50 billion a year trying to figure out how not to cover people," Clinton said. "I'm going to save them a fortune and a whole lot of time, because here's the new policy: No more discrimination period. So even if you have a pre-existing condition, you can get the health insurance you need no questions asked."

And she backed tax revisions to force Wall Street "to finally pay your fair share in taxes. Because it's outrageous that a teacher making $50,000 pays a higher tax rate than some Wall Street investment managers making $50 million."

Clinton advocated ending what she called inefficient subsides for private student loan companies and a Student Borrower Bill of Rights to eliminate deceptive adverting and outrageous fees.

All corporate subsidies would be reviewed by a bipartisan Corporate Waste Commission to find ways end them, she said.