In a city hit hard by home foreclosures, slumping tourism and a dried-up construction sector, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Wednesday hit his opponent hard on the economy, saying Republican John McCain lacks credibility when he says he will take things in a new direction. Watch video
Speaking in Las Vegas, Obama noted that McCain has been in Congress for 26 years and has as his top advisers several federal lobbyists, whose influence Obama partly blames for the policies of the Bush administration.
"Now he tells us that heуs the one who will take on the old boys' network in Washington?" Obama said of McCain, who has adopted more populist rhetoric as Wall Street has cratered this week. "What's wrong with this picture? The old boys' network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting."
On his 17th trip to Nevada, Obama drew his biggest crowd yet in the state, bringing more than 11,000 people to Cashman Field, the downtown stadium that is home to the Las Vegas 51s. Despite an afternoon rainstorm that cleared shortly before the candidate took the field, the stands were nearly filled.
The 5 p.m. speech clogged downtown traffic, and security for Obama's visit shut down parts of Interstate 15 at the peak of rush hour. Obama spoke with his back to the stands so that television cameras captured the packed crowd behind him, not the smaller group standing on the baseball field in front of him.