Obama: McCain trying to 'hoodwink' public with smears David Edwards and Andrew McLemore

Published: Sunday October 5, 2008





Print This Email This Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama lashed out at his opponent's

campaign Sunday, depicting Sen. John McCain as more interested in attacking Obama's character than solving the economic crisis.



Even after Congress passed a $700 billion bailout signed by President Bush, the next president will face daunting housing and credit problems, the Associated Press reported.



"Yet instead of addressing these crises, Senator McCains campaign has announced that they plan to 'turn the page' on the discussion about our economy and spend the final weeks of this campaign launching Swiftboat-style attacks on me," Obama said.



"...We're not going to let John McCain distract us, we're not going to let him hoodwink you," Obama said.



The McCain campaign shifted gears recently, with a campaign strategist saying it will spend the last month of the election focused on criticisms of Obama's experience instead of the faltering U.S. economy, Reuters reported.



Palin kicked off that effort Saturday with a speech that accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists," referencing his alleged connection to 1960s radical Bill Ayers.



The campaign has stepped up attacks after Obama widened his lead in the wake of the debates to eight points. Polls continue to show more Americans trust Obama to deal with the financial meltdown than McCain, the Baltimore Sun reported.



"Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," Obama said. "They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up."



"It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas and running out of time," Obama said at a campaign event in Asheville, NC.



This video is from CNN.com, broadcast October 5, 2008.









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