Obama: ‘Eight years of this nonsense is enough’

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama with wife Michelle and vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden in Detroit, Mich. (photo: Barack Obama via Flickr.com)

Barack Obama’s message for Detroit on Sunday was clear: The economy is a hot mess, but he’s ready to fix it.

With the meltdown on Wall Street dominating the headlines, tens of thousands of people packed Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s cultural district today to hear Obama and running mate Joe Biden deliver thunderous indictments of the Republicans (especially in Biden’s case) and the delineation by Obama of an impassioned vision for an alternative to four more years of executive rule by the GOP.

“I know these are difficult times and nowhere have they been more difficult than in Michigan. Nowhere have they been more difficult than in Detroit,” Obama said. “But I know that we can steer our way out of this crisis.”

Obama focused nearly all of his speech on the economy, with the Wall Street debacle receiving particular focus.

“Now that we’re fixing the mess on Wall Street we need to bring the same sense of urgency to helping those on Main Street,” he said. “What we’re seeing in the last few weeks is nothing less than the final verdict on this [trickle-down] financial philosophy.”

Polls indicate that the economic crisis is benefiting Obama, especially in Michigan: A Detroit Free Press poll of 602 likely Michigan voters last week put the Illinois senator’s lead over John McCain at 13 points, 51 percent to 38 percent.

Banner over crowd waiting for Sen. Barack Obama (Photo: Alexa Stanard)

The Detroit rally came one week before the national voter-registration deadline, and it seemed like everyone, Obama campaign volunteers working the throngs on the street on up to Obama himself, was pushing the crowd hard to register their friends and family.

In the crowd was a Who’s Who of Michigan Democratic politics, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.

The foursome (both candidates were joined onstage by their wives, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden) strode out the doors of the majestic Detroit Public Library to take the stage about 20 minutes late, after speeches by Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel and Denise Illitch, daughter of the scion of the Illitch empire and a candidate this fall for the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Illitch’s less than rousing introduction had the long-waiting crowd impatiently sighing for Obama.

Biden took the stage first and almost immediately lit into McCain.

“We saw a man [during the first presidential debate] who was a little out of touch with the American people,” Biden said. “We need more than a soldier, we need a wise leader…Nothing is more important than judgment in the next president. But what John McCain has demonstrated is that he lacks the judgment.”

In addition to employing his favorite word – “literally” – at least a half-dozen times, Biden rolled out a fresh zinger aimed at McCain: “John McCain has said he would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell. Barack Obama will follow him to where he lives and then send him to hell. Because he lives in Pakistan, in Afghanistan. He doesn’t live in Iraq.”

For his part, Obama didn’t shy away from tackling his opponent.

“John McCain says he’ll take on corporate lobbyists, but he doesn’t mention that he put seven of the biggest lobbyists in Washington on his campaign,” he said. “If you think they’re working to get him elected to put themselves out of business, well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Alaska.”