Obama hits McCain on economy in FL

by John McCormick, updated

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Seeking to keep Democrats motivated, Barack Obama kept his focus on John McCain today as he made the first of three campaign stops in Atlantic Coast states that went Republican in 2004.

In the final critical hours before Tuesday's election, Obama hammered McCain for saying in September that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" during a campaign stop in the same building.

"John McCain just doesn't get it. Remember what he said when he was here in Jacksonville on September 15th?" the Illinois Democrat asked a less-than-capacity audience of about 9,000 inside Veterans Memorial Arena.

"That day, more than 5,000 jobs were lost. More than 7,000 homes were foreclosed on. The day before, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said we were in a 'once in a century' crisis," he said. "And yet, despite our economic crisis, John McCain actually came here ... and repeated something he's said at least sixteen times on this campaign. He said - and I quote - 'the fundamentals of our economy are strong.'"

As the crowd booed, Obama used a line he consistently has in recent days: "You don't need to boo. You just need to vote."

(Photos by the Chicago Tribune's Zbigniew Bzdak)

Obama's campaign has been criticized for not providing the full context of what McCain said: "Our economy, I think, is still -- the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times."

Later that day, McCain altered his message, saying his earlier remarks were meant to praise U.S. workers for their resilience and he described the financial meltdown as a "crisis."

McCain's campaign responded with a statement that mocked Obama for a comment he made to MTV.

"Barack Obama said one thing at his rally, but earlier in the day he used more telling language saying that his plan for higher taxes will only amount to 'chump change' for millions of hardworking families," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement. "Of course, Americans aren't 'chumps' and they're looking for a leader with a record of making change, not taking it."

Obama, meanwhile, stressed the importance of Florida's 27 electoral votes, saying he needed to win the state. He also tamped down some of the expressions of confidence he offered a day earlier, fearing supporters could become complacent.

"This is going to be close here in Florida. This is going to be close all across the country," he said. "We're going to have to work like our futures depend on it for the next 24 hours because it does. Understand, at this point, I've made the arguments. Now it's all about who wants it more. Who believes in it more."

After arriving here around 1 a.m. today, Obama seemed a little confused about what state he was in at one point.

"The Republicans are spending a lot of money on ads here in Ohio, but if you watch those ads, you don't know - Florida," he said, correcting himself. "I've been traveling too much."

Obama also continued to link McCain to an unpopular president.

"George Bush dug us a deep hole," he said. "Now he's trying to hand off the shovel to John McCain."

As he has in recent days, Obama recounted the 21-month journey he has been on during his quest for the presidency.

"After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one day away from changing the United States of America," he said.

"Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everybody has a chance to succeed; the CEO and the secretary," he said. "Tomorrow, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope."

Obama has stops scheduled for later today in North Carolina and Virginia, before flying home to Chicago around midnight.