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Economy dominates day

Wall St. changes script for Obama, Palin in Colorado

By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 16, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Sarah Palin autographs posters after speaking at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Sarah Palin autographs posters after speaking at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

Barack Obama shakes hands with the crowd after his speech before the thousands who turned out at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Barack Obama shakes hands with the crowd after his speech before the thousands who turned out at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.

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It was a day when the news drove the candidates, instead of the other way around.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential pick, took the political tug-of-war over swing-state Colorado to a new level Monday, with Obama hitting the West Slope and eastern plains while Palin staked out the Front Range.

The Democrats wanted to stay on message - to talk Western Slope issues of energy, environment and water - but the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and $50 billion sale of Merrill Lynch meant Obama had to pivot.

Suddenly, it was about the economy and Wall Street bailouts in the shadow of a more than 500- point drop in the Dow Jones, the single largest plunge since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

5,000 at each event

Standing under a cloudless sky in Grand Junction, framed by bright yellow sunflowers and rusty tractors, Obama went forward with his speech but kept drifting back to the sputtering economy, taking shots at Republican rival John McCain along the way.

"For eight years, we've had policies that have shredded consumer protections, that have loosened oversight on regulation and encouraged outside bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class America," Obama said. "The result is the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. And I certainly don't fault Senator John McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to."

Speaking before a cheering crowd at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Palin said she and McCain would add Wall Street to their to-do list of reforms.

"Our regulatory system is outdated and needs a complete overhaul," Palin said, as husband Todd looked on. "Washington is asleep at the switch and ineffective, and management on Wall Street has not run these institutions properly."

In her first solo campaign trip outside Alaska, Palin elaborated on her role as McCain's vice president, saying that she would focus on energy by pushing McCain's "all-of-the-above strategy" to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. She also plans to make government reform and families with special-needs children top priorities.

People began arriving at 7 a.m. for Palin's 9 a.m. speech. The McCain campaign estimated the crowd, which included lots of families with kids, at 5,000, although the building was only half-full.

In his introduction, former Gov. Bill Owens touted Palin and McCain's "Western values" of independence, self-reliance and patriotism, and praised Palin's toughness as an outsider.

"We've done some shakin' up in Alaska," Palin said of her success at breaking up the "good-ol'-boys network of lobbyists and special interests. Whatever they're running now, it's not the state of Alaska."

Obama, wearing a white shirt with no tie and his sleeves rolled up, blasted McCain for a new slate of ads running in Colorado that called the Republicans the candidates representing change.

"Instead of borrowing my lines, he needs to borrow some of my ideas," Obama told the crowd, estimated at 5,800 by the Mesa County Sheriff's Office. "Change isn't about slogans - it's about substance. And if Senator McCain now wants to talk about who can bring change to Washington, then that's a debate I'm happy to have."

He'll get that chance Sept. 26, when the candidates have scheduled their first televised debate.

Obama in Golden today

Obama finished the day in Pueblo, where he stood in the center of the Rodeo Arena at the Colorado State Fairgrounds, home to the state's annual celebration of Western heritage, and said that he, not McCain, understands the needs of working people.

He criticized McCain for saying earlier Monday that the "fundamentals" of the economy are strong. McCain later clarified the comment, saying American workers and their innovations are strong.

"I congratulate Senator McCain for saying something good about American workers," Obama told the cheering crowd of about 13,500. "But it would have been nice if over the last 26 years that he's been in Washington, that he actually stood up for them once in a while."

Obama will wrap up his swing through Colorado today at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. There are no more tickets for the 9:30 a.m. event at the Lockridge Arena, the campaign said.

ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com

Comments

  • September 16, 2008

    11:39 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    HopiMedicineMan writes:

    "People began arriving at 7 a.m. for Palin's 9 a.m. speech."

    Don't these reporters do any kind of fact checking? People began arriving the night before is the real answer. And when I arrived at
    5:50 a.m. the parking lot was already full. Just making it up is why no one trusts the press.

  • September 16, 2008

    12:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Diff writes:

    Hopi - I saw the shots from the 9 News helicopter - and at about 6AM the lot was NOT full - the line looked to have about 200 or so people in it...
    Obama drew over 10,000 in Pueblo, Ms Palin drew about 5000 in west Denver - go figure!

    "IT's the Economy stupid!"

    Want more days like today in the stock market? Want your dollar to be worth even less than it is now? Want your home value to drop even further? Want to pay 5 dollars a gallon to fill up your car - next summer?
    Leave the same old oil people and Bush Sr and W cronies and lobbyist in charge of regulation and firms like Freddy MAC and Fannie MAE? By all means elect Palin and McSAME in November.
    OR you can elect someone who just might look out a little more for the little guy like you and me -
    Obama 08

  • September 16, 2008

    7:56 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    DakotaPlainsman writes:

    Diff,
    Concerning Fannie and Freddie, better not look at who was running those institutions. That would undermine your argument.
    (Hint: They were Clinton/Democratic appointees.)
    Also, the reason they avoided oversight: Look at who the top three recipients of Fannie and Freddie political contributions.
    #1 Dodd (Democrat)(Also got a sweetheart home loan)
    #2 Obama (Messiah) in a mere three years in office.
    #3 Kerry (Your Previous Dem. Presidential Hopefull)