Sen. Barack Obama took the stage Monday minutes after Congress rejected a $700 billion bailout package and did what some said he should have done days ago - laid blame for the economic shambles at the feet of Sen. John McCain and his colleagues.

Obama told a crowd of more than 2,500 at Mountain Range High School that McCain's support for deregulation contributed to the economic crisis, and said "it's outrageous that we're in this mess."

"(McCain) said in a recent interview that he thought deregulation has actually helped grow our economy," Obama said. "Senator, what economy are you talking about?"

McCain, who was in Iowa, said Obama and his allies have injected unnecessary partisanship into efforts to stabilize the financial industry.

"Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem," McCain said.

The stunning failure of the bailout package caught even the Obama campaign off guard, as the Illinois senator returned to the battleground state of Colorado for the second time since the Democratic National Convention.

Scheduled to speak around 11:45 a.m., his speech was delayed about 45 minutes while his prepared remarks were reworked.

With all of the warm-up speakers already done, the crowd seated in the high school gymnasium busied itself with occasional cheers and half-hearted efforts at the wave.

Obama apologized for the delay, saying he had been on the phone with congressional leaders and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Then he launched into an attack on McCain - the kind of tough talk some Obama supporters said was missing during the debate between presidential candidates Friday night.

It was fitting Obama came to Adams County, an area rocked hard by the economic downturn and the epicenter of Colorado's foreclosure crisis.

State Rep. Dianne Primavera, one of those who addressed the crowd before Obama's speech, said she knows how bad things are.

"I know because I walk precincts every day," she said.

Jared Polis, a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat, also brought up foreclosures, saying failed polices by President Bush have created a situation where families abandon homes in places like Adams County - where there is one foreclosure filing for every 44 houses.

For the first six months of 2008, Adams County saw a 4 percent increase in foreclosures compared with the same period in 2007.

Obama made note of that and used the economic crisis to rip President Bush and link the unpopular president's name with McCain.

"This is not a normal part of the business cycle," Obama said. "This crisis is a direct result of a philosophy of the people who have been running Washington for the last eight years."

"It's about time we had adult supervision in the White House," Obama said to loud cheers.

Adams County is a battleground within Colorado.

In 2004, Democratic candidate John Kerry squeaked by President Bush by less than 3 percentage points and Mannie Rodriguez, a Democratic National Committee member, said Obama should carry the county by a much larger margin.

"We need him to do big here," Rodriguez said. "We'd like to see a 3-to-1 margin here."

The McCain campaign announced Monday that the Arizona senator would be in Colorado Thursday and Friday - likely in Pueblo and the metro area. But those details were still being ironed out.

And on Saturday, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be in the metro area for a fundraiser.

McCain campaign officials said they didn't expect the two to appear together in Colorado.

Gov. Bill Ritter, who spoke about 30 minutes before Obama, said Colorado could be "the swing state" in the election and urged a massive mobilization to get Obama elected.

"It could absolutely come down to our nine electoral votes," Ritter said. "We don't want to wake up the next morning and think we didn't do enough."

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343

McCain on the bailout

Sen. John McCain accused Sen. Barack Obama and his allies in Congress of infusing "unnecessary partisanship" into efforts to steady the economy.

"Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem," McCain said, speaking to reporters Monday in Iowa.

McCain urged lawmakers to immediately return to Washington to reach an agreement.

His campaign staff said McCain would return whenever he could be of help. FULL STORY 25

The other Obama

Michelle Obama's voter registration rally in Boulder on Wednesday starts at 11:15 a.m. at Farrand Field on the University of Colorado campus. Republican John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are expected in the state Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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