Obama plants his flag in the GOP stronghold of Elko

ELKO -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama stopped here in the heart of Nevada's Republican country Wednesday to blame an unregulated Wall Street for wrecking the economy and worsening the financial future of middle-class Americans.

"The American economy prospers when all Americans prosper," Obama said during a 27-minute speech in an Elko park.

Obama told about 1,000 supporters he was disgusted with a lack of regulatory oversight that has led to crises affecting insurance, banking and mortgage lending companies.

"This election is our chance to say enough is enough."

The economic philosophy of Republicans, he said, has been to give tax breaks to the wealthy and big business, and hope that prosperity would trickle down to the middle class.

He noted that this was his third trip to Elko, population 18,500, where in 2004 President Bush beat his then Democratic rival John Kerry by a nearly 4-to-1 margin.

The crowd was about five times the 225 that members of Obama's staff estimated would attend.

"This place wasn't where presidential candidates would go," Obama said. "If you were Democrat, you went to Las Vegas. If you were Republican, you forgot about it. There is a reason we keep coming back to Elko. This place is like a lot of places across the country. You worked hard for your family, but you were forgotten. Nobody cared about you."

Obama joked that he should be considered a honorary Elko resident and that he counted on the crowd to become his ambassadors, to tell their friends and neighbors that he understands mining and supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

During his first appearance in Elko in August 2007, Obama was caught off guard when a member of the audience asked if he supported a proposed 8 percent tax on mining, the industry that has brought relative prosperity to rural Nevada.

With Wednesday's plunge on the stock market, gold soared by $70 -- a one-day record -- to $846.60 an ounce.

Nevada produces more than two-thirds of the gold in the country, and much of it is found along the Carlin Trend, about 30 miles east of Elko.

As Obama spoke, about 100 supporters of Republican nominee John McCain gathered in front of a nearby museum to protest and predict the Democrat won't do much better in Elko than Kerry.

"He is wasting his time here," said 15-year-old Tyler Scott. "So many people here are Republicans. We are miners. Democrats hurt miners."

Joy Reynolds said Obama wants to bail out people who have spent beyond their means.

"I have had a hard enough time paying my own bills, let alone theirs, too," she said.

But the crowd in the park was ecstatic about Obama, particularly because he stayed after his speech to shake hands, sign autographs and pose for cell phone pictures.

"He made me feel good about the United States again," said Gloria Hernandez of Fernley. "I'm 54. I have already had a good life. I feel real sad about the kids. My son can't buy a home. I think Obama can change the economy. The younger kids are screwed unless he becomes president."

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.