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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Barack Obama promised Americans on Wednesday "there are better days ahead" despite plummeting global stock markets, rising job losses and dark clouds of economic gloom.
The Democratic nominee struck an inspirational note hours after his latest debate clash with John McCain, but intensified his relentless drive to saddle his Republican foe with President George W. Bush's unpopular legacy.
Obama's call for national steadfastness in the hours of crisis came as he stretched his lead to 11 points in the latest daily Gallup tracking poll over McCain - less than four weeks before the November 4 election.
"I'm here today to tell you that there are better days ahead," Obama told a large, ethnically diverse crowd which was soaked by a rainstorm before the Democrat arrived in Indiana, a once solid Republican state which is now a battleground.
"I know that many of you are anxious about the future. But this isn't a time for fear or panic. This is a time for resolve and leadership," Obama said, vowing the United States would steer its way out of the crisis.
As global stock markets reeled from heavy losses, Obama warned America could not afford another four years of Republican economic policies, and said McCain was trying to hoodwink voters with his healthcare plans.
"I can take four more weeks of John McCain's attacks, but the American people can't take four more years of John McCain's George Bush policies," Obama told a large crowd at the muddy Indiana State Fairgrounds.
"We've seen enough of where that leaves us and we are not going back."
The McCain campaign has turned a harsh spotlight on Obama in recent days, slamming him over his past acquaintance with 1960s radical William Ayres, and questioning whether he shares basic heartland values.
Despite warning that the United States faced a moment of "great uncertainty" Obama vowed to lead the country out of its economic convulsion if he is elected president.
"It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight years," Obama said.
His tone appeared to be an attempt to frame an upbeat message to contrast to McCain, whom the Obama campaign is portraying as erratic and cranky after the latest debate clash.
The Democratic nominee's Indiana trip was a bid to stretch McCain's campaign, which polls show is struggling to cling onto states won by Bush in the 2004 election.
Latest polls give McCain an edge of a few points in a surprisingly tight race in the midwestern state, which has not voted Democrat in a presidential election since 1964.
Obama welcomed coordinated rate cuts by Federal Reserve and other central banks, though the move did little to calm stocks turmoil around the globe.
"I support that action, as I've said before that this is a global problem and it needs to be solved through a global effort," Obama said.
"I hope this global response continues."
McCain meanwhile flew to Pennsylvania to meet his combative running mate Sarah Palin, as the dust settled after the presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee Tuesday.
Several snap post-debate polls said Obama won the clash, following his perceived victory in the first debate showdown two weeks ago, leaving McCain scrambling for a comeback with time running out before election day.
The latest Gallup Daily tracking poll on Wednesday had Obama stretching his lead nationally over McCain to 11 points.
His 52 percent to 41 percent edge represented his highest point of the campaign and the biggest gap so far between the candidates in the general election.
The poll was largely taken before the debate, and does not reflect audience perceptions of the clash. - AFP/de
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