Obama, Making A Play For The Hoosier State
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – On his first trip to Indiana in just over a month, Barack Obama hit John McCain on health care, an important pocketbook issue for many Americans.
It was the senator’s sixth trip to this red state during the general election. It’s a state his campaign believes is within reach, even though a Democratic presidential candidate has not won here since 1964 and Democratic candidates have rarely come to campaigned this late in the election season.
Obama, who was introduced by Sen. Evan Bayh, talked about being asked during the debate if health care should be a right for every American.
“In last night’s debate, John McCain and I each had the chance to make the case for change – to talk about what we would do differently from the last eight years when it comes to lifting our middle-class and growing our economy, and restoring our prosperity,” he told a crowd of about 21,000 people packing the stands at the state fairgrounds. “We were both asked whether we believed that health care should finally be the right of every American. I believe it should. But Sen. McCain didn’t say that and when you look at his radical health care plan, you can see why.”
He said McCain was not being forthcoming with voters about how his plan to offer health care tax credits would be paid for in part by taxing employer health benefits. His proposal, Obama said, could make it hard for many families to afford coverage.
“Sen. McCain didn’t tell us about the studies that say his plan would cause 20 million Americans to lose their health insurance from their employer, or how the Chamber of Commerce – which is generally not a big supporter of Democratic candidates -- said it would be a disaster for businesses,” Obama said. “He didn’t mention how it would de-regulate the insurance industry so they don’t have to cover things like mammograms or vaccinations or maternity care.”
The senator began an otherwise standard stump speech by mentioning the steep declines in the stock market here and around the world over the last 24 hours and the Federal Reserve move to cut interest rates.
“This morning, the Federal Reserve took swift action together with other nations to stem what is now a full-blown global financial crisis,” he said. “ I support and encourage this kind of global coordination, because as I’ve said before that this is a global problem and it needs to be solved through a global effort. And I hope that this global response continues as leaders of major financial institutions and representatives from nations around the world gather in Washington soon.”
But while he noted the challenges presented by an economy in shambles, Obama also tried to strike a hopeful note, saying America had the most talented, most productive workers in the world and that there were better days ahead.
(NBC/NJ's ATHENA JONES)
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