Democrat Barack Obama criticised Republican White House rival John McCain today for a "say anything, do anything" political style as he opened a two-day tour to kick off early voting in Florida.
Senator McCain told supporters in Missouri that "nothing is inevitable" and he could still beat Obama, who leads in national opinion polls as the pair began a two-week sprint to the Nov. 4 presidential election.
"In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over," Senator Obama told about 8,000 supporters in Tampa, Florida. "We've seen it before and we're seeing it again today. The ugly phone calls. The misleading mail and TV ads. The careless, outrageous comments."
He noted McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, had told reporters yesterday she questioned the value of automated calls being made by McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee to link Obama with 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
"As you know, you really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin's standards on negative campaigning," Mr Obama told the crowd.
Senator Obama plans to spend two days in Florida trying to build turnout among voters casting their ballots early in the crucial battleground state, which has 27 electoral votes and is vital for either candidate in their quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
More than half of all US states allow voters to cast their ballots before Nov. 4, and Florida's window for early voting began on Monday.
A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll earlier today showed Mr Obama with a 6-point edge on McCain. A new CNN poll gave Obama a 5-point lead among likely voters, down from an 8-point edge two weeks ago. Other polls also showed a tightening race.
"We've got them just where we want them," Mr McCain said in St. Charles, Missouri. He criticised Obama for already beginning to select his Cabinet officials.
Senator Obama touted his endorsement from Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell and said he would call on him for advice.
"He will have a role as one of my advisers," Barack Obama said on NBC's "Today" a day after earning the endorsement of Powell, who is also a retired four-star general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss," Senator Obama said.
Senator Obama announced on Sunday he had raised $150 million in September, shattering fundraising records he set earlier in the year and fueling a huge spending advantage of about 4-to-1 over Senator McCain in recent weeks in battleground states.
Senator McCain campaign manager Rick Davis criticised Senator Obama for not disclosing the identities of hundreds of thousands of donors who have contributed less than $200 to his campaign. Campaigns are not required to identify donors whose contributions are less than $200.
The Obama campaign reported it had added more than 600,000 new donors in September for a total pool of about 3.1 million, with an average donation of $86.
Davis said the Obama campaign was keeping the names of its small-money donors secret "for no good reason." The McCain campaign, which accepted $84 million in public funds for the general election in early September, has listed its small-dollar donors.
Davis said he was not concerned about Obama's financial advantage, and said the U.S. economic crisis had more to do with Obama's recent gains in opinion polls than his spending.
The Republican National Committee raised $66 million in September and will be able to help McCain compete in advertising.
"We think money is not going to be what decides this race," he said. "The lack of money on Wall Street has had more to do with the outcome of this last month politically than the money in Barack Obama's bank account."
Reuters