Obama takes economic message west

(EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

PUEBLO, Colo. -- The Colorado State Fair ended a week ago, but the people of Pueblo got a special encore today at the fairgrounds: Barack Obama making his vigorous, economy-focused purple-state pitch.

Kicking off a campaign swing through the American West, Obama began the day with a rally in Grand Junction, Colo. and then flew south to Pueblo this afternoon to greet a throng of some 13,500, according to his campaign.

The Wall Street meltdown provided new grist for his stump speech, especially in light of John McCain's comments earlier today that he still believed that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." Never mind that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who knows a thing or two about economics, agreed with McCain's assessment. To Obama, this was just more fodder for his McCain-is-out-of-touch critique.

In Pueblo, Obama mocked his rival for trying to later trying to clarify that he had been talking about American workers. "Now, come on, Senator McCain. We know what you meant when you said it the first time. Because you've said it before," Obama said.

He also accused McCain of being blind to the needs of the American worker during McCain's 26 years in Congress.

"Senator McCain, you can't run away from your words and you can't run away from your record," he said. "When it comes to the economy, you've stood firmly with George Bush and failed economic theory, and what you're offering is more of the same."

Several voters who came to see Obama at the state fairgrounds said the collapse of major Wall Street institutions strengthened their desire to see him in the White House.

"Our government has been so slow to regulate integrity that it's gone out the window," said Reg Rudolph, a 40-year-old from Pueblo who works in the electric industry.

Joyce Stephens, a 67-year-old retired Pueblo teacher, said she knew Obama wasn't an economist. But she said she trusted him to surround himself with the right people and manage the economy responsibly.

When he took the stage, Obama noted how good the weather is when he's in Colorado. (Today in Pueblo: cloudless, slight breeze, 78 degrees.)

"I wonder whether it's me?" flirting with furthering the deification narrative

"Divine intervention!" a woman screamed from the audience.

"Oh, it's like this all the time?" Obama asked in mock disappointment.