Washington, Oct 31 (ANI): At least 33.5 million people on seven channels watched Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's infomercial on Wednesday night.

The ad was seen on CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, MSNBC, BET and TV One, according to Nielsen ratings.

In the 30-minute primetime campaign ad, Obama promised a rescue plan for the middle class in tough times as he reached for victory in his 21-month quest for the presidency.

"I will not be a perfect president," Obama said in the commercial. "But I can promise you this - I will always tell you what I think and where I stand."

Aides described the unusual ad as a final summation of Obama's campaign. They put the total cost at roughly 4 million dollar, enough to show it simultaneously on the broadcasts networks and cable channels.

As for reaction, CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said he doubts the ad changed many minds, but the goal of it was just to increase the "comfort level between Obama and voters."

"The spin doctors who put together this infomercial followed their own version of the Hippocratic Oath: 'First, do no harm.' It was an exercise in reassurance, from the reassuring images -- amber waves of grain, anyone -- to the soothing music, to Obama's low-pitched voice, to the stories of his childhood and his family, to his narrations of the lives of typical Americans," Greenfield said.

"This was all one message: I may have an odd name, come from a big city, and I'm obviously of a different color than other presidents -- but I share common roots, common values, and I understand what you are going through, and what you need from your government," he said.

In the spot, Obama asked voters to "choose hope over fear and unity over division" in Tuesday's election.

Republican John McCain derided the event as a "gauzy, feel-good commercial" paid for with broken promises.

Across 30 minutes, the ad blended views of Obama speaking in a setting that resembled the Oval Office, at the Democratic National Convention and elsewhere.

It also included scenes of Americans discussing their economic and health care troubles and testimonials to the Democratic presidential candidate by politicians and business executives.

The ad showed Obama's wife, Michelle, and his two daughters as well as past photos of his Black father from Kenya and White mother from Kansas.

The program ended with a live transmission of Obama speaking at a campaign rally in Florida, one of several states where Obama is trying to capture traditionally Republican territory. (ANI)

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Guwahati, Oct 31 (ANI): Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil will visit Assam today to take the stock of the situation after Thursday's serial blasts in the state.

Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, L K Advani, is also scheduled to visit the state later in the day.

Meanwhile, a massive search operation has been launched to arrest those involved in blasts, in which 70 people were killed and over 300 injured. A seven-member National Security Guard (NSG) team has already reached Guwahati to identify the explosives used in the blasts.

Although normalcy is returning, the shock of serial explosions is still on in the minds of the people.

Twelve high intensity serial blasts rocked Guwahati and some other cities of Assam on Thursday morning.

The first explosions took place near the Ganeshguri flyover near the high-security capital complex housing the Assembly building, followed by explosions at Paltan Bazar and Fancy Bazar in Guwahati.

Around the same time, bombs also went off in crowded market places of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta in lower Assam.

The banned ULFA has denied any role in these blasts. The Union Home Ministry sought an immediate report from the Assam Government on serial blasts. (ANI)

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Lahore, Oct 31 (ANI): A petition filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court has asked the court to cancel the land allotted to former president Pervez Musharraf at Chak Shahzad.

The petition filed on Thursday by Jamil Akhtar stated that the land could only be used to grow vegetables and poultry but Musharraf's farmhouse had a swimming pool and a jogging track, among other facilities.

Petitioner's counsel Barrister Farooq Hassan requested the court to order the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to cancel the allotment because it was being used in an unauthorised manner, the Daily Times reported.

The counsel accused the respondent of 'occupying' the Army House despite retiring from the army, and said that the former president was denying Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani the right to reside there.

He requested the court to take action against such violations by Musharraf.

The petitioner also requested that Musharraf should be summoned to court and asked to explain how he got the Rs 300 million, which was allegedly being spent on the farmhouse at the allotted land. (ANI)

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Washington, Oct 31 (ANI): Pakistani Ambassador to the US has questioned as to why foreign governments can bail out banks in their own countries but ignore the economic meltdown in Pakistan where a financial collapse could encourage extremists and undermine the global war against terrorism.

Haqqani told the World Affairs Council this week that " Pakistan needs the support of the international community in rebuilding its economy and providing hope to its people, because hope is what will help country's elected government to defeat the extremists and terrorists that pose a threat to the future of all of us."

"If Pakistan's economic crisis is not resolved, if people in the world's capitals do not understand that if they can give hundreds of billions of dollars in economic bailouts, then certainly a nation that is critical to global security also deserves international assistance in terms of being able to reshape its economy and getting back on an even keel," he added.

The Washington Times noted that Pakistan had appealed to the International Monetary Fund for emergency aid, as the governor of the central bank warned last week that the government must raise 4 billion dollar in the next 30 days to avoid an economic disaster.

The paper said Pakistan would need a total of at least 15 billion dollar over the next two years, according to some estimates.

Pakistan is also facing an inflation rate of 25 percent, the highest in 30 years. (ANI)

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