Lengthy Obama ad outlines economic plan

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign unveiled a 2-minute television ad Wednesday about the U.S. economy, in which he called for shared responsibility.

The ad will run on national cable stations, airing in in Florida and other battleground states, Politico reported.

The ad is part of the Democratic candidate's effort to respond with confidence to the meltdown on Wall Street that saw investment firm Lehman Brothers declare bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch being sold to Bank of America and the federal government provide insurance giant AIG an $85 billion loan to stay afloat.

Among his recommendations were reforming the U.S. tax system to provide a $1,000 tax break to the middle class, end the "'anything goes' culture on Wall Street with real regulation, legislation for "energy 'made-in-America'" to end dependence of foreign oil and a crackdown on lobbyists.

Obama also called for a "responsible end" to the war in Iraq "so we stop spending billions each month rebuilding their country when we should be rebuilding ours."

Obama said he approved the ad's message "because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the left and the right won't solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will."