Clinton unveils new stimulus package and leads poll

By Jeff Mason

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unveiled a second economic stimulus package on Thursday as a new poll showed her maintaining her lead over Barack Obama among Democrats.

With surveys showing the economy the top issue on voters' minds, Clinton called for new steps to address a deepening housing crisis, including a $30 billion emergency fund to help states buy foreclosed properties and provide mortgage restructuring.

Clinton overtook Obama in a daily Gallup tracking poll earlier this week and the latest survey showed her leading the Illinois senator 49 percent to 42 percent in the contest to select the Democratic nominee to face Republican Sen. John McCain in November.

The poll was a snapshot of current popular feeling, but Clinton trails Obama in the state-by-state contest for delegates that began in January. The nominees are formally chosen by delegates at the parties' conventions in the summer.

Obama, who would be America's first black president, is trying to rebound after a rocky patch. He delivered a major speech this week on race relations in an effort to explain his relationship with his long-time Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama condemned some of Wright's statements, such as his assertion the September 11 attacks were retribution for U.S. foreign policy and that the U.S. government intentionally infected blacks with the AIDS virus. But he refused to disassociate himself from the preacher, who he said had done great things for his Chicago community.

Much of the skirmishing on the campaign trail on Thursday surrounded the North American Free Trade Agreement. Campaigning in Indiana, Clinton, a New York senator, said she was never enthusiastic about NAFTA despite records that showed she helped her husband's drive to gain its passage.

The accord is deeply unpopular among Democrats in "Rust Belt" states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, which holds the next nominating contest on April 22, because it led to the loss of manufacturing jobs.