U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are campaigning in key battleground states today (Wednesday), with just under a month to go before the election.
Obama, a Democrat, told voters in the midwestern state of Indiana that he can take four more weeks of personal attacks from his Republican rival, but the country cannot take four more years of Bush administration policies supported by McCain.
Obama's running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, who was campaigning in the southeastern state of Florida, today portrayed the Arizona senator as an "angry man" resorting to personal attacks to distract voters from the economic crisis. But McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, slammed Obama at a rally in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.
McCain said the Illinois senator will increase government spending, and has requested nearly one billion dollars in earmark spending, allocations for projects favored by specific members of Congress, during his three years as senator. Palin said the election is a choice between someone with inspiring words and deeds, or, as she described Obama, a guy who is just going to try to talk his way into the White House. McCain and Palin travel on today to the state of Ohio.
Tuesday, the candidates sparred on the economy and other issues in their second presidential debate. Obama has been leading McCain in recent national polls, which show increased support for the first-term U.S. senator amid the financial meltdown.