Obama turns election rally in Florida into summit on jobs
By Lesley Clark | Miami Herald
LAKE WORTH, Fla. — Campaigning in a state hit hard by job losses and the mortgage crisis, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama started his second day of courting Florida voters with a sober summit focused on boosting jobs and capping the rising costs of healthcare.
''A crisis like this calls for the best ideas, the brightest minds, the most innovative solutions from every corner of this country,'' said Obama, who invited the Democratic governors of four key election states to share a stage with him, along with a small business owner from Miami, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker and the CEO of Internet giant Google.
The crowd, which began lining up outside the gym at Palm Beach Community College before dawn, had clearly been expecting a more raucous event. Before Obama took to the stage, they chanted his name and stomped their feet in the bleachers.
But Obama, whom some polls show has the edge among voters when it comes to handling the economy, tamped down expectations as soon as he took the stage.
''This is not one of our usual rallies. We're going to have one of those in Miami,'' he said as the crowd roared. "This is a more serious discussion about the economy. This is a serious conversation we want to have.''
Seated on a stage with the governors of Michigan, Ohio, New Mexico and Colorado, Obama led a conversation about economic conditions in the states, noting ``these leaders need and deserve a partner in the White House.''
He promised as president to invest in infrastructure and renewable energy and accused President Bush and Republican rival John McCain of ignoring the crisis until it ballooned out of control.
''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. "Instead of common sense solutions, month after month, they've offered little more than willful ignorance, wishful thinking and outdated ideology.''
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