Obama cautions against cockiness
In N.H., recalls primary stunner
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LONDONDERRY, N.H. - In his first campaign rally since the final presidential debate, Senator Barack Obama yesterday accused his Republican rival of pursuing a relentless drumbeat of personal attacks instead of offering a detailed prescription for the country's economic ills.
"I think you saw a bit of the McCain attack strategy in action," Obama said of the Wednesday night debate with Senator John McCain. "But here's what Senator McCain doesn't seem to understand. With the economy in turmoil and the American dream at risk, the American people don't want to hear politicians attack each other. You want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing the middle class each and every day."
Speaking in light rain at a color-splashed apple orchard, Obama continued to push the theme he stressed during the debate at Hofstra University - that McCain's economic policies would mimic the philosophy and practices of the Bush administration.
"Senator McCain said that George Bush won't be on the ballot this November," Obama told the crowd of 4,000 people. "But let's be clear: His policies will. Because in three debates and over 20 months, John McCain hasn't explained a single thing that he would do differently from George Bush when it comes to the most important economic issues we face today. Not one."
Obama is riding high in the polls, and many political analysts saw the debate as McCain's last, best chance to make a serious dent in Obama's momentum. But Obama cautioned supporters against overconfidence, reminding them of what happened in January in the Granite State.
"We are 19 days away from changing this country. Nineteen days away. But for those who are getting a little cocky, I've got two words for you: New Hampshire," Obama said.
After Obama's victory in the Iowa caucuses and the huge crowds he drew in New Hampshire, many observers believed Obama would win the primary and all but clinch the Democratic nomination. However, Senator Hillary Clinton pulled off a comeback victory to set up a hard-fought primary campaign that did not end until June.
"I learned right here, with the help of my great friend and supporter Hillary Clinton, that you cannot let up, you can't pay too much attention to polls," said Obama, who gave a similar warning at an earlier breakfast fund-raiser in New York City. "We've got to keep making our case for change; we've got to keep fighting for every single vote; we've got to keep running through the finish line."
Obama reiterated the point when the crowd jeered a reference to McCain. "Don't boo now; just vote," the Illinois Democrat said.
The presidential campaigns are closely contesting the four electoral votes in New Hampshire, where polls show Obama ahead in what has been friendly ground for McCain, who revived his presidential bids in both 2000 and this year with primary victories.
In a statement, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds sought to emphasize McCain's maverick credentials. "Voters in New Hampshire know John McCain, and they know he had the courage and judgment to oppose President Bush's big-oil energy policy, wasteful spending bills, and mismanagement of the war in Iraq - ironically, Barack Obama cannot say the same," Bounds said.
At his rally, Obama ridiculed McCain's criticism, leveled repeatedly during the debate, that his tax policies would harm average Americans like "Joe the plumber." The plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, had complained to Obama during a campaign stop that his proposal to raise taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year would stifle his plans to buy a plumbing business.
McCain "is trying to suggest that a plumber is the guy he's fighting for," Obama said. "How many plumbers do you know making a quarter-of-a-million dollars a year?"
The crowd roared in laughter, and nearly all the hands in the crowd shot into the air when Obama asked how many people made less than $250,000 a year.
Wearing a black jacket and open-neck white shirt, Obama appeared energized by the enthusiastic crowd, some of whom waited for hours in intermittent rain to hear him speak at Mack's Apples before a classic New England backdrop of red barns, ripe pumpkins, and bales of hay.
Tracey O'Brien, a mother of three from Londonderry, said she did not make up her mind to support Obama until Wednesday's debate, when she heard him speak about the need to fund more services for autistic children. O'Brien said her 11-year-old son has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.
"I liked his articulation of the issue. The fact is these children require services that are very expensive," said O'Brien, a registered independent. "When McCain brought it up, he sounded like just another politician."
Another voter swayed by the debate was Sophie Demers of Litchfield, a retired inspector for
Some lingering doubts were dispelled, Demers said, when Obama and McCain offered starkly different timetables for reducing US dependence on imported oil. Obama set a 10-year goal; McCain said he could accomplish the work in his first four-year term.
"I didn't think McCain was very realistic," said Demers, also an independent. "I feel Obama is very honest in what he's saying, in what he believes he can do."
Valerie Heacock, a young mother of three from Newport, N.H., carried her 7-year-old son on her back as she trudged to her car after the rally. The 60-pound boy hardly seemed to slow her down as she spoke glowingly of Obama's message.
"He's great," said Heacock, a homemaker who made the 70-mile trip with her husband and two other children, 3 and 1. "My older son's been dying to see him after watching him on TV."
