John McCain on Saturday took a subtle swipe at fellow Republican George W. Bush at a rally in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, saying he would hold the federal government to a budget as stringent as any household in the current tough economy.
“We need a new direction and we have to fight for it,” McCain told an estimated crowd of 8,000. “I am not afraid of the fight. I am ready for it.”
In a crowded courtyard outside of the Price William County’s government offices, McCain said of the Old Dominion “This is a must win state.”
A day earlier in Roanoke, Democrat Barack Obama told thousands of supporters at a downtown rally that McCain would rather focus on personal attacks than solving the nation’s economic woes.
“I know these are difficult times, I know folks are worried,” Obama said. “But I believe we can steer ourselves out of this crisis, because I believe in this country.”
The back-to-back candidate visits illustrate an emerging dynamic in the final weeks of the campaign. Polls showing Obama making gains in southern states has McCain spending unexpected time and resources defending traditional Republican strongholds such as Virginia and North Carolina.
The shifting battleground state map also shows Obama leading in key states such as Ohio, Missouri, Florida and Nevada, among others.
In Virginia on Saturday, a succession of local Republican officials, including U.S. Senate candidate Jim Gilmore, addressed the estimated 8,000 attendees in Woodbridge and expressed a fear that the polls would discourage Republicans from turning out on Election Day.
McCain on Saturday stepped up his critique of Obama economic policies, saying in his weekly radio address that, “At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives.”
Today, McCain is expected to meet and possibly collect the endorsement of Joe Wurzelbacher, the Ohio plumber whose criticism of Obama’s tax policies made him a surprise focus of the candidate’s last debate. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press, and some have suggested that he may endorse Obama.
For both candidates, a key challenge in the final weeks of the race is remaining upbeat in the face of seemingly intractable bad news on the economy.
“The American story has never been about things coming easy,” Obama told Virginia supporters. “It’s been about rising to the moment when the moment is bad.”
