It was a full house in La Crosse Friday morning as a crowd of thousands turned out to hear Republican presidential nominee John McCain. McCain talked about the economy during another rough day for stocks and took a few shots at Barack Obama. One of the first things out of his mouth: Wisconsin votes are crucial, especially with new polls showing him trailing Barack Obama by 10 points in the state.

"We need the state of Wisconsin in order to win this election. We’re the underdogs and we're going to come from behind like we have every time in the past. How many times have the pundits written off the McCain campaign? We're going to fool them again. We're going to fool them one more time!" McCain said to loud cheers.

McCain also unveiled a new proposal Friday morning.

"We have to protect investors, especially those relying on their investments for retirement. Current rules mandate that investors must begin to sell off their IRA's and 401(k)'s when they reach age 70 1/2. To spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time when the market is hurting the most, those rules should be suspended."

The senator then moved to foreign policy, and repeated his claim that he is the best man to run the country during a war.

"In short, who is ready to lead?" he asked. The crowd responded with raucous shouts of ‘John McCain!’

McCain also attacked Obama, saying his opponent never answers the tough questions and wants to increase government spending by &860 billion. At the end of his speech, McCain focused on his own record, saying Americans know what he's capable of as president because he's fought for change before.

"You don't have to hope things will change when you vote for me, you know they will change when you vote for me."

After his visit to La Crosse, McCain headed to Minnesota for a campaign appearance there.