Barack Obama targets economic concerns in Florida campaign swing
He charges that President Bush and John McCain ignored 'the crisis on Main Street.' In Pennsylvania, McCain uses a comment from Joe Biden to attack Obama.
Democrat Barack Obama, leading in national polls two weeks before the Nov. 4 elections, today kept the focus on voter concerns about the economy that have spurred his campaign in recent weeks.
Campaigning in Florida, one of the battleground states that could decide the election, Obama noted that Florida lost 11,000 jobs in September alone. He blamed "eight years of greed on Wall Street and irresponsibility in Washington" and argued that "when we spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, that means less money to fix crumbling roads and bridges here at home."
With Florida and 20 other states facing budget shortfalls, Obama also blamed the White House -- and his rival -- for ignoring pleas for help.
"While President Bush and Senator McCain were ready to move heaven and earth to address the crisis on Wall Street, President Bush has failed to address the crisis on Main Street -- and Senator McCain has failed to fully acknowledge it," Obama said.
Republican John McCain, meanwhile, campaigning in Pennsylvania, sought to exploit a comment by Democrat Joe Biden that his running mate, the 47-year-old Obama, will be tested by international foes within the first six months of his administration.
"We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting two wars," McCain said in Bensalem. "What is more troubling is that Senator Biden told their campaign donors that when the crisis hits, they would have to stand with them because it wouldn't be apparent Senator Obama would have the right response. Forget apparent. We know Senator Obama won't have the right response."
Biden's comments -- which came Sunday night during a fundraising event in Washington state -- seemed to energize McCain, who wowed the crowd of several hundred with his stump speech. "I've been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old, and I have the scars to prove it," he said. "If I'm elected president, I will fight to shake up Washington and take America in a new direction. ... I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it."
When McCain said, "If I'm elected president," a roused crowd shouted, "We will win" and McCain responded with a chuckle by changing his speech text to say, "When I win." The crowd roared.
