Obama Talks Economic Populism in Southeast Missouri

Barack Obama talked about the economy today with workers in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a town of less than 72,000 people that sits nearly 30 miles from Kentucky, in the rural southeastern part of the state.

Obama held a town hall meeting with about 100 workers at the Thorngate, Ltd. clothing plant, appearing with one of his most vocal supporters–Missouri’s first-term Sen. Claire McCaskill (D)–who narrowly defeated incumbent Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) in 2006.

He used a message of economic populism to lead into his staple message of change–“change that puts folks back to work,” as he referred to it today.

“The troubling statistics only begin to tell a story found in communities and at kitchen tables across the country,” Obama said, according to remarks issued by his campaign.

“It