March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage company, an example of what's wrong in today's economy and a political culture dominated by corporate lobbyists.

Obama, campaigning in Pennsylvania, criticized Countrywide for its role in the subprime mortgage crisis and denounced the millions of dollars the company's top executives will receive even as workers lose pensions and homeowners are forced to sell.

``What's wrong with this picture?'' Obama asked a crowd today in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ``These are the folks who are responsible for infecting the economy and helping to create a home foreclosure crisis -- 2 million people may end up losing their homes.''

Obama, seeking to woo economically strapped voters away from rival Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, is the latest politician to take on Countrywide. The company in January agreed to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. for stock valued at about $4 billion after it couldn't overcome record losses and a cash shortage.

$28 Million

Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, drew new ire from Senator Charles Schumer last week after agreeing to give Countrywide President David Sambol $28 million to stay when the companies merge and run the combined mortgage unit.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, asked Bank of America last month to reconsider Sambol's appointment. He renewed his criticism on March 28, calling the pay package excessive. Defaults and foreclosures are running at record highs, and lawmakers have blamed mortgage companies including Calabasas, California-based Countrywide for lending to people who couldn't repay and then not doing enough to help them avoid losing their homes.

Scott Silvestri, a spokesman for the bank, had no comment. A call to Countrywide's media relations department wasn't immediately returned.

Obama, in the midst of a six-day bus tour across Pennsylvania before its April 22 primary, is stressing his disdain for Washington lobbyists and depicting Clinton as beholden to special interests.

Clinton, a New York senator, ``thinks that Washington works the way it should, except it's Republicans'' in charge instead of Democrats, Obama said at a town hall meeting last night in Harrisburg. Clinton last month also criticized Countrywide's role in the mortgage crisis.

Lobbying Lawmakers

Obama today pointed out that mortgage companies have spent almost $200 million lobbying lawmakers to oppose tighter regulations on their industry.

He said financial meltdowns amid lax federal oversight have almost come to be expected ``because no one in Washington seems to be outraged about it.''

The Illinois senator also commented on the Bush administration's proposal to overhaul U.S. financial regulation, saying the plan doesn't go far enough.

``George Bush finally figured out that we need to maybe have some oversight of the financial markets,'' Obama said. ``But he's not making regulations any tighter. He's not preventing the predatory lending that's responsible for so many of these problems.''

Obama has received $168,584 from employees who work in the mortgage industry, which includes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That is more than any other 2008 presidential or congressional candidate except Clinton, who took in $199,315, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that tracks political giving.

Separately, Obama yesterday picked up an endorsement from Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, a so-called superdelegate who has a vote at the Democratic convention in August. The backing means Obama and Clinton now each have the support of 13 senators. Obama was endorsed by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey last week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman with the Obama campaign at kchipman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 31, 2008 16:31 EDT