Intensifying assault, Obama ad accuses McCain of sleaze, smears, lies

September 16, 2008

Barack Obama and Democrats intensified their assault yesterday on John McCain, accusing him of running a sleazy campaign and of repeatedly lying.

A new television ad called "Honor" shows McCain pledging, "I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land."

"What's happened to John McCain?" the announcer asks.

Then the announcer quotes a series of critiques from commentators and the press: "He's running 'the sleaziest ads ever,' 'truly vile,' 'dishonest smears' that he repeats even after it's been 'exposed as a lie,' 'truth be damned,' a 'disgraceful, dishonorable campaign.' "

"After voting with Bush 90 percent of the time, proposing the same disastrous economic policies, it seems 'deception' is all he has left," the announcer concludes in the ad.

In the Detroit suburb of St. Clair Shores, Mich., yesterday, Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, argued that McCain is trying to fool voters with his claim of bipartisanship and reform - just like President Bush did eight years ago.

"We've seen this movie before, folks," Biden said. "But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original. If we forget this history, we're going to be doomed to repeat it - with four more just like the last eight, or worse. If you're ready for four more years of George Bush, John McCain is your guy."

Also yesterday, the Democratic National Committee added a "Count the Lies" Web page that lists articles from independent, nonpartisan fact checkers debunking assertions made by McCain, his campaign, or his surrogates - 52 as of late yesterday.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds called the ad "a desperate effort to move away from talking about his thin, but alarming record on the issues."

"As Americans face economic uncertainty, . . . Obama would sooner hurl insults than discuss his record of seeking higher taxes during a down economy, opposing additional offshore drilling to reduce energy prices, and voting the partisan line nearly 100 percent of the time."

FOON RHEE

GOLDEN, Colo. - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said yesterday she would concentrate on energy security, government reform, and helping families with special-needs children if the GOP wins the White House.

Campaigning on her own for the first time outside her home state, the Alaska governor struck populist themes, saying that she had broken "the old oil monopoly that had controlled" the state and eliminated the "good-ol'-boys network of lobbyists and special interests."

She also pledged to play a key role in an effort to reform government. "In Alaska, we took the state checkbook and put it online, so everyone can see where their money goes. We're going to bring that kind of openness to Washington," she said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

With Sarah Palin's popularity, Democrats and supporters of Barack Obama are more directly raising John McCain's health as an issue.

MoveOn.org became the latest yesterday, calling on McCain to release all his medical records. McCain, who turned 72 on the day he introduced Palin as his running mate earlier this month, would be the oldest person elected to a first term as president. And he has had several bouts of skin cancer.

"If McCain got sick while in office, the leader of the free world would be Sarah Palin - someone with no foreign policy experience and a domestic agenda more extreme than George Bush's. Voters deserve to know how likely that might be," the leaders of MoveOn.org told members in an e-mail.

FOON RHEE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - John McCain thanked Floridians yesterday for looking after his first wife and children when he was in a Hanoi prison, acknowledging a woman rarely mentioned in his Republican presidential campaign.

"I hope you know that in the years I was away in prison, the people of Orange Park, Fla., took care of my wife and family," he told a crowd of several thousand, referring to Carol McCain and their three children.

ASSOCIATED PRESS