Palin links Obama with terrorists
Falling behind in the polls one month before Election Day, Republican John McCain stepped up efforts to portray Barack Obama as unacceptable for American voters. His vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, accused the Democratic nominee of "palling around with terrorists".
The onus is on McCain to turn the race around under exceptionally challenging circumstances. With the economic crisis working to Obama's advantage, the Democratic nominee has surged into the lead in both national polls and surveys of key battleground states, including Republican-leaning Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
A new poll published yesterday showed Obama leading McCain in Ohio by 49 percent to 42 percent among likely voters. The Columbus Dispatch newspaper poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Palin's attack on Saturday came after McCain's advisers indicated the Arizona senator's campaign will ramp up his attacks in the coming days by describing "who Obama is", including questioning his character, "liberal" record and "too risky" proposals.
McCain's campaign apparently believes that making Obama, who is seeking to become the first black US president, supremely unacceptable in voters' eyes may be the Republican's best - if not only - shot at winning the presidency. But that risks turning off voters if McCain goes too far.
Palin got in a few early blows on Saturday when she said: "Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." She also said, "This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."
The Obama campaign called Palin's remarks offensive but not surprising in light of news stories detailing the McCain campaign's come-from-behind offensive.
"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement.
Palin's comment was a reference to Obama's association with a former 60s radical, William Ayers, one of the founders of the Weather Underground. Its members took credit for bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and the US Capitol during the Vietnam War era. Obama, who was a child when the group was active, has denounced Ayers' radical views and activities.
While it is known that Obama and Ayers live in the same Chicago neighborhood, served on a charity board together and had a fleeting political connection, there is no evidence that they ever palled around. And it is simply wrong to suggest that they were associated while Ayers was committing terrorist acts.
Agencies
(China Daily 10/06/2008 page8)
