Obama confronts a volatile economy

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- With jitters coursing through Wall Street and the world financial markets, Barack Obama addressed the economy in a speech this morning to a packed auditorium at Furman University here in Greenville.

Obama recounted all the worried faces he's seen while campaigning. "The fears of these people and millions of others across the country have grown worse, and are now shared by more and more Americans," he said. "What started as a crisis in the housing market has now spilled over into the rest of the economy."

Banks are facing a credit crunch, joblessness is on the rise, and oil prices are at record levels, Obama said. He reiterated calls for a $500 tax rebate and a $250 boost to seniors' Social Security checks, and he said unemployment insurance should be available longer -- and to more workers -- than it is now.

"People have less money to spend, higher bills to pay, and fewer opportunities to work," he said.

Obama also criticized rival Hillary Clinton for changing her economic stimulus plan to include a rebate only after he proposed one, and for voting for a bankruptcy bill in the Senate that she later said she was happy didn't become law. The two tangled over both points in last night's contentious debate.

"This is exactly the kind of politics we cannot afford right now," Obama said today. "Not when the stakes are this high, not when the economy is this fragile, not when so many banks are foreclosing on people's dreams. We can't afford a president whose positions change with the politics of the moment."