Palin, N.C. lawmaker apologize for comments

EARLY BIRD GETS THE VOTE - A Jefferson County election judge watched a voter drop her marked ballot into the ballot box during early voting in Westminster, Colo. Early voting continues in Colorado for the next two weeks. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

Republicans were in mea culpa mode yesterday after comments in North Carolina suggesting that their supporters are more patriotic than Democrats.

At a fund-raiser in the Tar Heel state last week, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said, "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America . . . pro-America areas of this great nation."

Yesterday on CNN, Palin said she didn't mean to say some parts of the country are more pro-American than others. "I don't want that misunderstood," she said. "If that's the way it came across, I apologize."

Introducing John McCain at a rally in Concord, N.C., Saturday, Representative Robin Hayes said, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."

Hayes said in a statement yesterday: "I genuinely did not recall making the statement and, after reading it, there is no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way."

GLOBE STAFF AND

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Palin raps Obama's efforts in reaching women voters
Sarah Palin, in her debut as the Republican vice presidential nominee nearly two months ago, made sure to pay tribute to Democrat Hillary Clinton and her historic presidential campaign.

Yesterday in Nevada, flanked by female supporters, she renewed that pitch to female voters in a way that seemed to accuse Democrat Barack Obama of only paying lip service to women.

"Our opponents think they have the women's vote all locked up, which is a little presumptuous since only our side has a woman on the ticket," she said. "When it came time for choosing a vice president, somehow Barack Obama just couldn't bring himself to pick a woman who got 18 million votes in the primary."

Telling the crowd in Henderson that it was a "too familiar story," Palin added. "The qualifications were there, but for some reason the promotion never comes."

Campaigning with Clinton Monday in Florida, Obama said she had inspired his two daughters and women everywhere.

GLOBE STAFF

McCain, in Phillies territory, hits Obama on team loyalty
John McCain sought yesterday to smack a political home run by portraying Democratic rival Barack Obama as a switch-hitter on baseball loyalties.

"I heard and I think you did too that Senator Obama was showing some love to the Devil Rays down in Tampa Bay yesterday," McCain said in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, as supporters booed. "Now, I'm not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states, but I think I may have detected a little pattern with Senator Obama . . . When he's campaigning in Philadelphia, he roots for the Phillies, and when he's campaigning in Tampa Bay, he shows love to the Rays."

At a rally on Monday, Obama appeared with several Rays players and said, "Give it up for the Rays!" But last week in Philadelphia, he declared, "I'll root for the Phillies now."

The Obama campaign insists that the senator's high-fiving of Rays players doesn't mean he's rooting for them instead of the Phillies.

Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan responded, "I guess these are the kinds of attacks you make when you have no plan to fix our economy. Senator Obama said he's rooting for the Phillies. He said nice things about the members of the team who came out to support him, but that doesn't change the fact that they bounced his White Sox out of the playoffs."

FOON RHEE

Obama has advantage in campaign cash on stretch
Democrat Barack Obama's advantage in campaign cash for the stretch run became even clearer yesterday with his monthly report with the Federal Election Commission.

After spending $87.5 million in September, his campaign still began October with $133.6 million in the bank because of his record-smashing $150 million haul during September. With so much money, Obama has given $7 million to Democratic parties in key battleground states, including $1.7 million in Florida and $1 million in Ohio.

Republican rival John McCain spent $37 million last month, leaving him only $47 million in public money available through Election Day. McCain is accepting public financing, which gives him $84.1 million for the general election campaign, but also caps his spending at that amount.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MoveOn urges supporters to donate to Senate races
MoveOn.org, the antiwar group that has been one of Democrat Barack Obama's most important backers in the presidential race, is now urging members to give money to US Senate candidates.

In a video sent to supporters yesterday, the group's executive director, Eli Pariser, declares that the "biggest untold story in politics" is that Democrats are within reach of a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate. "That's the magic number because if Democrats have 60 votes, there's nothing Republicans can do to block reasonable progressive proposals on healthcare or energy or Iraq," he says.

FOON RHEE

McCain's 'Viagra moment' used in campaign mailers
NARAL's political action committee is trying to capitalize on John McCain's "Viagra moment" for its first direct mail piece of the campaign.

In July, McCain was asked about a supposed disparity on insurance coverage for contraceptives and for erectile dysfunction drugs. There was a pregnant pause and a pained look on McCain's face. "I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer," he finally said.

The mailer unveiled yesterday contrasts images of a young woman with her birth control pills ("Not having these pills could change the rest of her life") and an older man ("Having this pill could change his evening").

But independent fact-checking groups say the premise of the question is flawed because the vast majority of insurance plans do offer the full range of contraceptives.

FOON RHEE