| | |  Americas & Beyond | September 2008 
Obama Vows to Rescue Economy in Presidential-Style Address
 Agence France-Presse
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In a presidential-style address to the nation, Democrat Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to unite left and right in a common mission to rescue the stricken US economy.
"In the past few weeks, Wall Street's been rocked as banks closed and markets tumbled," the Illinois senator said, speaking directly to the camera in an unusually lengthy campaign advertisement lasting two minutes.
"But for many of you - the people I've met in town halls, backyards and diners across America - our troubled economy isn't news," he said.
The TV spot, which the Obama campaign said was airing on national cable and in battleground states, was released as the US government bailed out insurance giant AIG in the latest intervention to head off a global economic shock.
As he headed from a Hollywood fundraiser here to economic-themed campaign rallies in Nevada, Obama touted his plan to cut taxes for middle-income Americans, bring about energy independence and crack down on lobbyists.
Noting that 600,000 Americans have lost their jobs this year as incomes stagnate, prices rise and home values slump, he said in the ad: "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. This is no ordinary time and it shouldn't be an ordinary election.
"But much of this campaign has been consumed by petty attacks and distractions that have nothing to do with you or how we get America back on track."
Obama promised to end the "anything goes" culture of Wall Street and divert 10 billion dollars a month of spending in the Iraq war to rebuilding the US economy, while acknowledging that far-reaching reform would not be easy.
"But we're Americans. We've met tough challenges before," the Democrat said, reprising lines from his stump speech, which has turned sharper as he hammers Republican rival John McCain as being out of touch on the economy.
"I approved this message because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the left and the right won't solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will." |
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