Candidates go for possible weak points

Barack Obama is focusing on the faltering economy during a bus tour of Virginia today.

He promoted his plan to cut taxes for the middle class and said he understands that families are growing through hard times. That, Obama said, is in stark contrast to Phil Gramm, an economic adviser to Republican rival John McCain, who famously talked recently about Americans "whining" about the economy and going through a "mental recession."

"The American people don't whine," Obama told voters in Martinsville. "They work hard."

McCain, meanwhile, is going after Obama again on the Iraq war.

"Yesterday, Senator Obama got a little testy on this issue," McCain said in Las Cruces, N.M.
"He said that I am questioning his patriotism. Let me be clear: I am not questioning his patriotism; I am questioning his judgment. I am questioning his judgment. Senator Obama has made it clear that he values withdrawal from Iraq above victory in Iraq, even today with victory in sight. Over and over again, he has advocated unconditional withdrawal – regardless of the facts on the ground. And he voted against funding for troops in combat, after saying it would be wrong to do so. He has made these decisions not because he doesn't love America, but because he doesn't think it matters whether America wins or loses."