Obama taps war chest, calls on Bill Clinton

Economy is the focus of infomercial

Barack Obama takes the stage with former President Bill Clinton at a campaign rally in Kissimmee, Florida. (Reuters Graphic / Jason Reed)

SUNRISE, Fla. - Senator Barack Obama, seeking to ride his economic message to victory at the polls on Tuesday, reached into his arsenal yesterday for two powerful weapons to help him make his case: money and Bill Clinton.

Obama tapped his vast campaign account to bankroll a highly unusual infomercial on prime-time television, an unfiltered 30 minutes that he used to continue introducing himself to voters and lay out his plans to right the troubled American economy. Hours later, he headlined his first joint rally with the former president, whose economic stewardship in the 1990s many voters recall fondly.

"In case all of you forgot, this is what it's like to have a great president," Obama said to 35,000 people late last night in Kissimmee, Fla., outside Orlando. "Florida, I think you all agree with me that we all wish the last eight years looked more like the Clinton years."

Obama's use of his campaign cash and of Clinton comes as the Illinois senator looks to hold on to his substantial lead in polls nationwide and in a number of battleground states, including several where a Democratic presidential nominee has not won in years. If Obama can sustain his momentum for six more days, he will be well positioned to win the presidency with a large mandate from voters.

The half-hour ad, called "Barack Obama: American Stories, American Solutions," featured ordinary Americans who are struggling economically, along with Obama's pledges and plans to make things better by cutting taxes for the middle class, expanding alternative energy, and extending healthcare to the uninsured. It included warm footage of Obama, his wife, and two daughters on the campaign trail over the past two years, and cameos from leading supporters, such as Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.

"We've seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of history and on American lives," Obama, wearing his trademark dark suit and conservative maroon tie, said into the camera. "But much that's wrong in our country goes back even farther than that. We've been talking about the same problems for decades, and nothing is ever done to solve them."

He continued: "Michelle and I have met so many Americans who are looking for real and lasting change that makes a difference in their lives. Their stories are American stories."

They were stories about families such as the Johnstons from North Kansas City, Mo., struggling with the rising costs of healthcare and food, and having difficulty making their car and mortgage payments. And families such as the Stuarts, from Sardinia, Ohio, who have had to take out a loan on their house to pay medical bills.

"You just wonder, you know, where am I going from here?" Juanita Stuart asked in the ad.

The final segment showed Obama addressing supporters and viewers live last night from a hockey arena in Sunrise, outside Fort Lauderdale, where he and running mate Joe Biden fired up a crowd of 20,000.

"America, the time for change has come," Obama declared.

Republican rival John McCain mocked Obama's infomercial and again hammered the Illinois senator for backing away from an earlier pledge to work with McCain toward an agreement on public financing and spending limits for the general election.

"When you're watching this gauzy, feel-good commercial, just remember that it was paid for with broken promises," said McCain, who also campaigned aggressively yesterday across Florida, one of the biggest prizes on Election Day, with 27 electoral votes and where Obama holds a narrow lead in the polls. "Senator Obama's word doesn't appear to mean that much."

Obama's appearance with Clinton last night in Kissimmee was a marquee event in Florida, where local TV networks planned to carry it live on 11 p.m. newscasts.

The two men were not on the best of terms during the primaries, as Obama battled the former president's wife, Hillary Clinton. But last night they were all smiles as they crested the stage together. Clinton saluted the giant crowd, before Obama put his hand on Clinton's back as they walked on the podium.

Clinton praised what he called Obama's steady leadership during the economic crisis, and he defended Obama against McCain's allegations that his tax plan would "redistribute" wealth. Clinton said Republican leadership in the White House the last eight years had done just that, giving the wealthy even more than they had when he left the Oval Office.

"Don't tell me about redistribution," Clinton said.

"Folks, we can't fool with this," he said. "Our country is hanging in the balance. We have so much promise and so much peril. This man should be our president."

Clinton also noted the diversity of the crowd, saying "you've even got a few old, gray-haired white guys like me. You haven't shut my demographic out yet."

Earlier in the day, the two men campaigned separately.

Obama swung through Raleigh, N.C., where he urged supporters to vote early and sought to wrap himself, as he has often done in recent weeks, in Clinton's legacy, saying incomes went up when the Democrat was in office, only to fall under President Bush. McCain, Obama said, would only continue what he called Bush's failed approach.

"If I've got economic theories that are similar to Bill Clinton's, and he's got economic theories that are similar to George Bush's, you can look and see which one worked and which one didn't," Obama said to 28,000 gathered in a downtown park. "The facts are there for everyone to see."

Obama's infomercial aired at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS, NBC, and Fox, plus on cable on MSNBC, the Spanish-language Univision, and two networks targeted to African-American viewers, BET and TV One.

It cost the Obama campaign about $3 million, but it could easily afford the price tag, demonstrating again his huge fund-raising edge.

Sasha Issenberg of the Globe staff contributed to this report.