Democrats: Game on in St. Paul

Hurricane Gustav no longer a threat and Republicans freely attacking Barack Obama at their convention, Democrats are taking off the gloves as well.

They had put their war room in St. Paul on hold and had cancelled a call with reporters, but today they're firing back at Tuesday night's speeches that focused on John McCain's biography and maverick reputation.

"Last night, President Bush enthusiastically passed the torch to the man who he wants to carry on his legacy for the next four years -- his disastrous economic policies, his foreign policy that hasn’t made us safer, and his misguided war in Iraq that’s costing us $10 billion a month," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "The man George Bush needs may be John McCain, but the change America needs is Barack Obama. And despite the speeches from McCain’s allies, there’s nothing independent about voting with George Bush 90 percent of the time. All John McCain is offering is more of the same.

"What's most telling from their convention so far is what they've left out. Last night we heard no mention of the economy, no mention of how John McCain would jumpstart the economy, no mention of how he would fix the housing crisis or create energy independence. McCain's campaign manager said yesterday this campaign would not be about the issues, and last night's speeches showed he was right: the Republicans intend to offer no real change, just more of the same. American families who are struggling deserve better."

Added the Democratic National Committee in its daily memo: "John McCain and his advisors don't get it. American families can't afford four more years of the same failed policies and flawed politics.

"But, McCain's selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate shows that more of the same is exactly what John McCain is offering. He made a hasty, politically motivated decision to pick someone who would mollify the right wing of his party and who shares his view that the economic policies of George W. Bush are working and should continue.

"McCain's selection of Governor Palin tells us a lot about his judgment. She doesn't have the record of reform that McCain says she does, she supported the infamous Bridge to Nowhere she now claims to oppose, she cozied up to scandal-plagued Senator Ted Stevens, and hired a lobbying firm to secure millions in earmarks from Washington--a practice that John McCain criticizes on the campaign trail. And on top of that, she's under investigation in Alaska."