Ron Kind, a local star who had held every post from high-school quarterback to county prosecutor before being elected to Congress in 1996, ripped into Sen. John McCain as an economic lightweight who could not handle the “3 a.m. phone call” from Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson Jr.

Rep. Ron Kind (WI), co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, attacked Sen. John McCain at Obama's rally today.

Kind is not usually a partisan attack machine, but he slammed every step of McCain’s response to the financial crisis.

First, Kind said, McCain claimed the fundamentals of the economy were strong — an obvious first strike. Then, the Republican nominee proposed a commission to study the problem, and hastily called for the (impossible) firing of the SEC commissioner — Kind labeled these strikes two and three. The morning crowd roared its approval.

Kind also advocated for the bailout bill — Obama is due to fly back to Washington to vote for today — saying that despite understandable anger “back home,” it was crucial to get the economy moving.

Obama’s supporters, literally overflowing one of those small-town “Main Streets” we all keep hearing about — were silent on that point.