Obama links McCain to 'reckless' GOP economics

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday he offers fundamental change from reckless Republican economic policies that he contended have hammered middle-class families and would continue under Republican rival John McCain.


"These anxieties seem to be growing with each passing day," Obama said on a campaign swing in this economically ailing battleground state. "We can either choose a new direction for our economy or we can keep doing what we've been doing. My opponent, John McCain, thinks we're on the right track."

That elicited boos from some of the 1,500 people who filled a Springfield high school gymnasium. When an AP-Ipsos poll asked the "right track, wrong track" question last month, nearly eight out of 10 said they thought the country was on the wrong track. The same poll set President Bush's approval rating at 29 percent.

"It's true that change is hard, change isn't easy," Obama said. "Nobody here thinks that Bush or McCain has a real answer for the challenges we face so what they're going to try to do is make you scared about me."

Change with difficulty was a core theme Democrat Bill Clinton used when he opposed President George H.W. Bush in 1992, a campaign also fought during tough economic times.

"We don't need the same old tired answers," Obama said. "We need something new."