Today on the presidential campaign trail

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a town hall meeting at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

IN THE HEADLINES

McCain says he questions Obama's judgment, not his patriotism, on how to deal with Iraq war ... Former NY Mayor Giuliani to keynote GOP convention; other former McCain rivals also to speak ... Traveling by bus in Virginia, Obama pushes for more union jobs ... AFL-CIO jabs McCain on his economic record in new mailer

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McCain again questions Obama's judgment on Iraq

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain told voters on Wednesday he is not challenging Barack Obama's patriotism in criticizing his call to pull out of Iraq, only the judgment of his Democratic rival.

"He's making these decisions not because he doesn't love America, but because he doesn't think it matters whether America wins or loses," McCain said.

During a town-hall meeting in this swing state, McCain repeated his charge that Obama would rather forfeit than win in Iraq just to boost his own political ambitions. Obama has denounced that assertion as an assault on his patriotism.

The contest between the two presidential nominees-in-waiting has grown increasingly caustic over the unpopular war in Iraq and how best to end U.S. involvement there.

McCain challenged Obama's positions on Iraq, including his opposition to the temporary buildup of troops last year. Obama has acknowledged that the so-called "surge" reduced violence in Iraq, but he adds that the surge has failed in its political goal of facilitating a reconciliation among contentious Iraqi factions.

Obama proposes to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Iraq within 16 months; McCain opposes any timetable for withdraw. Meanwhile, Iraqi leaders have been pressing the U.S. for a timetable.

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Giuliani to give keynote at GOP convention

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention next month and Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman also will take center stage at the GOP gathering.

John McCain's vanquished Republican primary rivals -- and a slew of potential McCain running mates -- also have speaking roles at the four-day gathering in St. Paul, Minn.

President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, first lady Laura Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000 and is said to be under consideration for the same role with McCain, will open the convention on Monday, Sept. 1, with speeches that focus on service.

The subsequent days will focus on reform, prosperity and peace.

Most of McCain's other former primary rivals will speak, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, ex-Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also is mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidates.

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Obama sounds populist themes in Virginia bus tour

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to create millions of union jobs in alternative energy and to end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas, using tough new populist language to persuade voters that he, not rival John McCain, is best positioned to lift the limping U.S. economy.

Obama was on a two-day bus tour through Virginia, a likely general election battleground state, amid frenzied speculation about when he would announce his running mate. He brushed off questions about his choice during a morning visit to a farmer's market in Greensboro, N.C., before boarding the bus.

At a community college in Martinsville, Va., Obama told about 350 supporters that McCain had a compelling biography as a former prisoner of war in Vietnam. But, he said, the GOP hopeful would follow the economic policies of the Bush administration if elected president.

"I honor his service," Obama said. "I don't honor his policies. I don't honor his politics."

Obama stuck mostly to economic themes during his appearance, adopting a pitch that sounded much like Hillary Rodham Clinton in the waning days of her primary campaign. The former first lady defeated Obama in eight of the last 13 primaries using populist language that strongly resonated with rural and working-class voters.

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AFL-CIO targets McCain's economic record

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The AFL-CIO is planning to use the soon-to-be completed Olympic Games in China to jab at Republican presidential candidate John McCain on his economic record.

"Beijing 2008. America's athletes are coming home. But thanks to John McCain, 2.3 million American jobs aren't," the nation's largest labor organization said in a mailing sent out Wednesday to 50,000 union households in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

The AFL-CIO said the mailer has been targeted to neighborhoods and communities hardest hit by China trade, where factories have shut down and jobs have been outsourced. In Ohio, that's Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown, Dayton and Columbus. In Michigan, Flint and Detroit. In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Allentown.

The AFL-CIO endorsed Obama last month, freeing the organization and its 56 unions to spend some of its $200 million war chest on his campaign.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has been given a Tuesday evening speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

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DAILY TRACK

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are running about even -- Obama has 45 percent to McCain's 43 percent -- among registered voters in the presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll daily tracking update.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama campaigns in the Virginia cities of Martinsville and Lynchburg.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain campaigned in Las Cruces, N.M.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"What Obama is creating is this army of individuals, these grass-roots activists, who are out there trying to change the world in 160 characters or less." -- David All, a Republican strategist, on Democrat Barack Obama's plan to break the news of his running mate by text messaging supporters.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

U.S. soldiers have given more money to Democrat Barack Obama than Republican John McCain. Obama received $335,536 from 859 members of the military. McCain got $280,513 from 558 military donors, according to a report from the Center for Responsive Politics, which looked at donations of $200 or more.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.