Monday, October 06, 2008
IN THE HEADLINES
McCain calls Obama a liar in harshest criticism yet ... Obama says McCain should be more specific about economic crisis ... Palin expands criticism of Obama to include Rev. Wright; tones down description of Ayers ... As deadline nears, one Palin ethics investigation cloaked in secrecy; another beset by lawsuit ... Despite Wyoming's long tradition as a red state, Obama campaign has office and staff
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McCain calls Obama a liar
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ Behind in the polls, Republican John McCain on Monday called Democratic rival Barack Obama a liar as he leveled his harshest criticism yet, and said the campaign boils down to one basic question: Who is Obama really?
Adopting an aggressive tone on the eve of their second debate of the season, the GOP presidential candidate criticized Obama's ties to Chicago, his legislative record and even his pair of best-selling memoirs.
McCain, speaking about the financial crisis, took offense at Obama's accusation that McCain opposed regulation that would have prevented the credit crunch. "I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed," McCain said.
The Arizona senator, a veteran of more than two decades in Congress, told his audience that while he is a known quantity the same cannot be said about Obama, who is midway through his first term as a senator from Illinois.
Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said McCain is a "truly angry candidate" who is trying to divert attention from the economy and that it was Obama who warned, in 2007, of the subprime mortgage crisis now blamed for the turmoil in the financial industry.
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Obama says McCain should focus on economy
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) _ Barack Obama said Monday that John McCain is trying to shift attention from the troubled economy because the issue is bad for the Republican presidential nominee's campaign.
The Democratic presidential candidate also implored federal officials to take swift action as Wall Street recorded another record one-day decline amid a global sell-off of stocks.
Obama told reporters in Asheville, N.C., that he was surprised his Republican rival's campaign would signal an effort to avoid talking about the financial turmoil because McCain advisers fear it could cause him to lose the election.
"I've got news for the McCain campaign: The American people are losing right now," he said. "They're losing their jobs. They're losing their health care. They're losing their homes. They're losing their savings. I cannot imagine anything more important to talk about."
An aide to McCain recently said the GOP campaign would like to shift the presidential race's focus away from the economy, which has been a better issue for Democrats than Republicans. Since then, McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, has been questioning Obama's character based on his association with an incendiary pastor and a 1960s radical turned college professor.
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Palin criticizes Obama's ties to Wright, Ayers
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) _ Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin expanded her attack on Democrat Barack Obama's character Monday to include his relationship with an incendiary former pastor as well as his ties to 1960s-era radical Bill Ayers.
In the process, Palin toned down her description of the Obama-Ayers relationship after her weekend remarks were criticized as exaggerated, but at the same time she embarked on a discussion of Obama's relationship with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., which Republican John McCain had signaled he did not want to be a part of his campaign.
In an interview with conservative The New York Times columnist William Kristol published Monday, the Alaska governor said there should be more discussion about Wright, Obama's pastor of 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Obama denounced Wright and severed ties with the church last spring after videotapes surfaced showing Wright making anti-American and anti-Semitic comments from the pulpit.
At a morning rally in Florida, Palin kept up her criticism of Obama's ties to Ayers, a founder of the violent Weather Underground group blamed for several bombings during the Vietnam War era, when Obama was a child.
The Illinois senator has denounced Ayers' radical views and activities.
"This is someone who sees America as 'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who targeted his own country," Palin said of Obama. Over the weekend, she had said Obama "pals around with terrorists."
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Palin ethics probes beset by secrecy and lawsuit
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Republican Sarah Palin says she's an open book regarding an abuse-of-power investigation. Apparently her staff doesn't feel the same way.
While the Alaska governor has waived her privacy rights so details about her firing of a state commissioner can be made public, she has not called on others in her administration to do the same. Unless they do, the results of a personnel board investigation may never be revealed.
The personnel board and the state Legislature are running separate investigations into whether Palin abused her power by firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, who says he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a messy divorce with the governor's sister.
The controversy, known in Alaska as Troopergate, could hurt John McCain's presidential bid. Legislative investigators are due to submit a report Friday that could reveal embarrassing details about Palin's leadership and provide campaign fodder in the final weeks of before the election.
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Obama bucks past and establishes Wyo. office
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ Wyoming is as red a state as there is when it comes to presidential elections.
Since 1968, Wyoming has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in each election. As a result, recent Democratic presidential candidates have conceded the state to the GOP, and neither party's top candidate has spent much time or money on Wyoming.
But this year, Democrat Barack Obama is bucking that trend by establishing a campaign office in downtown Casper and hiring two paid staffers to oversee his campaign in Wyoming. Meantime, Republican candidate John McCain has no office or staff in Wyoming.
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DAILY TRACK
Democrat Barack Obama has an 8-percentage-point lead over Republican John McCain _ 50 percent to 42 percent _ among registered voters, according to the latest Gallup Poll daily tracking update.
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THE DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama and Joe Biden had no public events.
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THE REPUBLICANS
John McCain held a rally in Albuquerque, N.M.
Sarah Palin campaigned in Florida.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The notion that we would want to brush that aside and engage in the usual political shenanigans and smear tactics that have come to characterize too many political campaigns is not what the American people are looking for." _ Barack Obama, referring to economic turmoil.
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STAT OF THE DAY:
In 2004, there were 4 million foreign-born Hispanics citizens of voting age. Today, that number is more than 5 million, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by the nonprofit Pew Hispanic Center.
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Compiled by Ann Sanner.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.