Obama upbeat in ad, McCain attacks

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By Joseph Curl and Christina Bellantoni

"They mattered before the economic turmoil of the present. They will matter still when it has passed. And in a time of war, at a moment of danger for our country and the world, let it not be said of us that we lost sight of these challenges."

Mr. Obama did not comment on Mr. McCain's charges on national security, but a surrogate, retired Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, ripped the senator from Arizona.

"When the next president is tested, the American people can have John McCain's judgment of siding with George Bush and Dick Cheney on every major national security decision, or they can have the steady leadership and sound judgment of Barack Obama that has earned the support of Americans like General Colin Powell," the general said.

Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain stumped in the Sunshine State, a crucial battleground that is tilting toward the Democratic candidate.

The senator from Illinois leads in most state polls, by an average of 3.5 points, but his advantage is within the polls' margins of error.

Mr. Obama spent more than $3 million to showcase the plight of everyday Americans and outline his intentions for helping them in a spot broadcast on all but one major network, plus BET and Univision.

The McCain campaign dismissed the TV spot as a mere sales pitch.

"As anyone who has bought anything from an infomercial knows, the sales job is always better than the product," McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "Buyer beware."

On the stump, the Republican candidate himself mocked Mr. Obama's ad in similar terms, saying: "As with other infomercials, he's got a few things he wants to sell you: He's offering government-run health care, ... an energy plan guaranteed to work without drilling ... and an automatic wealth spreader that folds neatly and fits under any bed."

The "real stories" in the Obama infomercial included Rebecca Johnston, a mother struggling to make ends meet in North Kansas City, Mo., and 72-year-old Larry Stuart, who had to mortgage his home in Sardinia, Ohio, and come out of retirement to afford medicine for his chronically ill wife.