Don't let Barack Obama buy New Mexico

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http://www.JohnMccain.com/ -- Listen to Ads against Obama

McCain told the Albuquerque crowd that he relished being the underdog in the race.

"Ten days to go, we're a few points down, and the pundits of course as they have four or five times have written us off," McCain said. "And you know what, my friends? They forgot one thing. They forget to let you decide ... We love being the underdog and we're going to win."


In West, McCain looks for a home-court advantage

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)– Republican John McCain stepped up his assault on Democratic rival Barack Obama as he campaigned energetically in the West, claiming Saturday a home-court edge in crucial battleground states in the region.

"I'm a fellow Westerner, I understand the issues, I understand the challenges the great Western states face," said McCain, an Arizona senator. "We know what our great Southwest is, we welcome it and I'm proud to be a senator from the West."

McCain continued to portray Obama — a senator from Illinois — as a tax-and-spend liberal certain to push for more government and higher spending, but he added a twist as he stumped through New Mexico and Texas.

"Sen. Obama has never been south of the border," said McCain, arguing that he has a feel for issues like water that resonate throughout the region.

McCain also pointed to the likelihood that Democrats would continue controlling Congress after the election, meaning winning the White House would give the party total control of the government. He warned that a "Democratic congressional agenda" would become the nation's should Obama win.

With polls showing him behind Obama nationally, McCain pledged a scrappy close to the campaign.

"We're a few points down and the pundits, of course, as they have four or five times, have written us off," he said. "We've got them just where we want them. We like being the underdog."

McCain swept through New Mexico, with a dip into Texas, looking to reverse polls showing him trailing in states in the Southwest. Later he was to head to Iowa in hopes of putting that state's seven electoral votes in play.

Seeking to energize his backers, McCain said Obama was "more interested in controlling wealth than creating it."

"He believes in redistributing wealth," McCain told about 1,500 at an outdoor rally in New Mexico. "We've seen that movie before in other countries. That's not America."

His challenge was daunting in the campaign's closing days. With a big financial advantage, Obama was far outspending McCain on television advertising, and even as McCain stumped through Colorado he was cutting back on his paid media in that state. He sounded undeterred.

"Don't let Barack Obama buy New Mexico," said the Arizona senator.

It's unusual for presidential candidates to be defending neighboring states in the campaign's closing days. Obama was scheduled to sweep through New Mexico in the day.

Along the way, McCain was moving to put more distance between himself and the unpopular President Bush.

"We cannot spend the next four years as we have much of the last eight, hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad," McCain said. "We have to act, we need a new direction and we have to fight for it."


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Palin drops first puck in St. Louis video -- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081025/ap_on_el_pr/mccain (Warning: MSM-lies in related news)

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The Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed McCain on Oct. 25:

This is a time for a president with deep experience and proven character, a president who thrives in the great, good, honest middle ground in which most Americans live, a president forthright enough to tell us what we'd rather not hear, a president with the courage to follow his convictions and the grit to persevere.

This is Sen. John McCain's time. ...

McCain offers up his compelling biography as a war hero, his admirable candor and his centrist independence in an increasingly polarized political environment. A McCain administration would chart a wiser course on the economy than one led by his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. McCain's campaign has recently found a sharp focus on economic and tax issues, allowing voters to draw clear distinctions with policies Obama would pursue.

And as president, McCain would fill the need for some semblance of partisan balance in Washington, keeping what promises to be a more heavily Democratic Congress from running roughshod on business policy, unions, free trade, health care and more. ...

Obama's record lies to the left of most Americans, yet he is running as a centrist who can reconcile a range of viewpoints. But can we have confidence he will govern from the middle? Will he even need to, or be able to, with a Congress heavily controlled by Democrats, perhaps with a filibuster-proof Senate?