In Colo. swing, McCain takes swipes at Obama's tax plan
Democrat pays visit to ailing grandmother
DENVER - His rival is on the sidelines to be at the side of his seriously ill grandmother, but time is running out fast for a comeback.
So Republican John McCain didn't pull back on his schedule - or hold his fire - yesterday, with three events in the swing state of Colorado.
McCain emphasized differences with Democrat Barack Obama on taxes, saying that while his opponent might want to "soak the rich" with his proposal to end the Bush tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 a year, it's the middle class that will get "put through the wringer."
"He believes in redistributing the wealth," McCain told a rally in Denver. "Anytime you hear talk of a targeted tax increase, you might want to double-check the skill of the marksman - the US Congress has been known to fire wildly."
While McCain has been trying to distance himself from both the unpopular Congress and his unpopular president, the Arizona senator picked up President Bush's vote yesterday. In past elections, the president and Laura Bush have traveled to Texas to vote, but the White House said they cast their ballots early to be sent back to Texas.
Michelle Obama filled in for her husband at campaign stops in Ohio, and talked about helping the middle class. While Republicans might talk about family values, she said, "We actually have policies that value families."
Joe Biden, carrying the banner for Obama, ventured yesterday to challenging territory. The Democratic vice presidential nominee was in West Virginia, which Obama lost badly in the Democratic primaries and which is dominated by the white, blue-collar voters who have been the most leery of him.
In Charleston, Biden appealed to working-class voters on such issues as the economy and clean coal.
He also reached out on patriotism, referencing recent remarks made by his Republican counterpart, Sarah Palin, for which she has already apologized.
"Recently, in North Carolina, Governor Palin said she was happy to be in a 'pro-America' part of our country. I was just in North Carolina, and it is a deeply patriotic place," Biden said, according to prepared remarks. "But every state has sent its sons and daughters to serve and die for this country. West Virginia is home to over 200,000 veterans. Nearly 1,500 West Virginians are currently deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. And 33 of these fallen angels have given their lives. We all love this country. We are all patriots."
He then criticized automated phone calls attacking Obama from John McCain's campaign, introducing Chaylee Cole, a student at Fairmont State University who was fired from her job at a call center after refusing to make those calls.
Biden also debuted a couple of one-liners about McCain's attempts to distance himself from Bush.
"As my granddaughter says, 'Hello?' John McCain is now attacking the Bush budget and fiscal policies. Folks, this is as crazy as the Sundance Kid attacking Butch Cassidy! They were in this together."
"I know Halloween is coming," he added. "But John McCain as the candidate of change? Whoa, come on. John McCain and change? He needs a costume for that. Folks, the American people aren't going to buy this."
Obama, meanwhile, let on yesterday that his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who is to turn 86 tomorrow and who helped rear Obama, might be in her last days.
He spent about an hour with her Thursday night and visited again yesterday.
"Without going through the details too much, she's gravely ill. We weren't sure and I'm still not sure whether she makes it to Election Day," Obama said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"We're all praying and we hope she does, but one of the things I want to make sure of is I had a chance to sit down with her and to talk to her. She's still alert and she's still got all her faculties. And I want to make sure that I don't miss that opportunity." 