Greta Brummer: McCain, Obama battle into last days before vote

Barack Obama and John McCain traded blistering attacks Saturday, with the Democrat using the embrace of an unpopular vice president as a bludgeon, and the Republican scrambling to save traditional GOP states with aspersions on his rival's patriotism.

And with just three days left in the presidential race, the rivals campaigned in starkly different situations.

For Mr. Obama, who has confidence and a steady lead, it was a time to continue playing offense in states where Republicans have won in recent presidential elections.

For Mr. McCain, it was a time to maintain hard-hitting attacks on Mr. Obama in an effort to close the gap in a short amount of time.

In Springfield, Va., Mr. McCain blasted Mr. Obama for telling an Iowa rally on Friday that when he won the state's first-in-the-nation contest 10 months ago, his "faith in the America people was vindicated."

Faith in America shouldn't hinge on a political contest, Mr. McCain thundered. "My country has never had to prove anything for me. I always had faith in it."

The Democratic camp called it "pathetic" for Mr. McCain to jump on Mr. Obama's Iowa comment, which differs little from remarks he's made countless times this year. Obama aides called it a distortion that suggests a candidate flailing to score points.

Mr. Obama tweaked Mr. McCain after Vice President Dick Cheney sang Mr. McCain's praises Saturday morning – a kiss of death in Democratic eyes. Party operatives gleefully spread accounts of the stamp of approval, delivered to a GOP rally in Wyoming, Mr. Cheney's home state.

"John is a man who understands the danger facing America, he's a man who has looked into the face of evil and not flinched," the vice president said, denouncing Mr. Obama's "high-tax liberalism."

"I'm delighted to support John McCain, and I'm pleased that he's chosen a running mate with executive talent, toughness and common sense."

Hours later in Pueblo, Colo., Mr. Obama declared sarcastically that Mr. McCain had earned that endorsement, through years of cheerleading for Bush-Cheney policies on Iraq and the economy.

"Do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain's going to bring change?" Mr. Obama said.

"George Bush may be in an undisclosed location," he said, alluding to the president's glaring absence from the stump this fall, "but Dick Cheney's out there on the campaign trail because he'd be delighted to pass the baton to John McCain."

Obama in 'good place'

The McCain campaign hit back at the criticism.

"Barack Obama and Dick Cheney aren't just cousins, they've shared support for the Bush energy policy and the out-of-control spending that John McCain has fought to oppose," said Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman.

In Henderson, Nev., Mr. Obama told 15,000 at a high school that "the last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street."

Mr. Obama spent Saturday in Nevada and Colorado – states once deemed fertile ground for a Westerner like Mr. McCain – followed by a late-night rally in a conservative corner of Missouri, seeking to juice up Democrats to offset the GOP edge.

And the Democrat started running TV ads this weekend in Arizona, too, taking the fight to Mr. McCain's own turf.

But Texas? Mr. Obama has written it off.

"We're trying to add as many as possible. Let's not get greedy here," Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said. "Resources being what they are, you have to make decisions ... but we're competing in a much broader array of states than any Democratic nominee has in a long time. It's a good place to be."

McCain battles on

Mr. McCain warned voters in Virginia and Pennsylvania that a vote for Mr. Obama would be a vote for a liberal agenda and higher taxes.

"Senator Obama is in the far left lane of American politics, even more liberal than a senator that used to call himself a socialist," Mr. McCain told a crowd in Newport News, Va., referring to Vermont's Bernie Sanders as he had the day before.

In a blistering attack, he said Mr. Obama would unite with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In fact, Mr. Obama appeared Saturday morning with Mr. Reid in Las Vegas, where the Nevada Democrat drew boos when he warned that Mr. McCain would cut taxes for oil companies and wealthy corporations, and cheers by describing Mr. Obama as "the smartest, the nicest and the most capable" guy around.

In Mr. McCain's view, the Obama-Reid-Pelosi troika would represent unbridled Democratic power.

"One-party rule starts with lowering our defenses and raising our taxes," he said, warning that the Democratic leaders were already "working out the details" of how to raise taxes and concede defeat in Iraq.

Mr. McCain's trip to Virginia signals the challenges of his underdog campaign. No Republican presidential candidate has lost Virginia in more than 40 years, yet Mr. McCain, because of shifts in the state's politics and demographics, trails in the polls.

Mr. McCain told commonwealth Republicans that he will prevail.

"Let me state the obvious," he said. "We need to win Virginia on the fourth of November. With your help, we will."

dallasnews.com

Greta Brummer

Sunday, November 2, 2008

McCain, Obama battle into last days before vote

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