12:22 PM: Obama talks economic policy, contrasts with Clinton
JANESVILLE -- Barack Obama laid out his economic policy to several hundred workers gathered at the General Motors assembly plant in Janesville this morning, using the opportunity to contrast his record with that of Dem presidential rival Hillary Clinton.
Obama drew the loudest response from the crowd when he vowed to fund his economic agenda "by ending this war in Iraq."
"It's time we stop spending money on putting Iraq back together and start spending money to put America back together," he said.
Obama blasted Clinton for voting for legislation that made it more difficult to declare bankruptcy.
"Even though she voted for it, she said she was glad it didn't pass," he said, adding that kind of logic is used only in Washington.
Obama also railed against the influence of lobbyists in Washington, saying they killed health care reform and help corporations avoid taxes while the middle class foots the bill.
"They don't represent ordinary Americans, they don't fund my campaign, they won't be running my White House and they won't drown out the voices of the hard working people of the United States," he said.
Obama also drew cheers when he vowed to make sure "CEOs can't dump your pension with one hand and themselves a golden parachute with the other.
"That's an outrage, and it's time we had a president who knows that's an outrage," he said.
Among the state officials on hand were Gov. Jim Doyle, who is traveling today with Obama, Dem state Sen. Judy Robson, and Dem Reps. Donna Seidel, Kim Hixson and Mike Sheridan, who also serves as the president of the UAW local.
-- By Greg Bump
Labels: 2008 spring primary