Obama buys 2-minute commercial on economy [View All]

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http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D938K0P83&show_article=1


BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Barack Obama sought to put a personal stamp on his economic policies in troubled times, appearing Wednesday in a two-minute television commercial to outline his plans and caution it won't be easy to fix the nation's worsening financial problems.
The new ad was filmed in Denver on Tuesday and was to be broadcast nationally in the wake of one of the worst days on Wall Street, as the stock market, reeling from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the takeover of Merrill Lynch, fell 500 points. The turmoil continued Tuesday when the Federal Reserve forged an extraordinary $85 billion rescue of insurance giant American International Group Inc.


The ad and a hardening of Obama's rhetoric reflected a turning point in the campaign to zero in on the economy as the No. 1 issue for voters.

Obama's point was that Americans didn't have to read newspapers or watch television reports to know that the economy is struggling.

Obama said: "600,000 Americans have lost their jobs since January. Paychecks are flat and home values are falling. It's hard to pay for gas and groceries and if you put it on a credit card they've probably raised your rates.

"You're paying more than ever for health insurance that covers less and less," he said. "This isn't just a string of bad luck. The truth is that while you've been living up to your responsibilities, Washington has not. That's why we need change. Real change."

Taped in a living-room like setting, Obama spoke directly to the camera and did not mention Republican rival John McCain.

The Obama campaign also released an ad highlighting the closure of Corning Inc.'s plant in State College, Pa., and accusing McCain of selling out its workers.

The ad, which is set to air in Pennsylvania and 12 other states, features photos of blue-collar workers and claims that in 2004 the company hired back many of its workers to dismantle the equipment for shipment to China. McCain, it says, supported breaks to companies that moved jobs overseas and voted against a crackdown on unfair trade practices.

"Washington sold them out with the help of people like John McCain," the ad says.