Posted October 26, 2008 2:52 PM
by Jill Zuckman
Cedar Falls, Iowa - On the 41st anniversary of being shot down over Hanoi, Sen. John McCain faced a barrage of questions about his campaign's viability, the benefits of his running mate, and his criticisms of Sen. Barack Obama.
"We're doing fine," McCain told Tom Brokaw on NBC's Meet the Press. "We have closed in the last week. We continue this close through next week, you're going to be up very, very late on election night."
While McCain played defense on the Sunday morning talk show, Obama accused him of finally admitting to his common beliefs with President Bush during a campaign stop in Denver.
"Just this morning, Senator McCain said that he and President Bush - 'share a common philosophy.' That's right, Colorado," Obama said. "I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk, and owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common."
But at Northern Iowa University here, Obama was the recipient of tough criticism from McCain's warm-up act, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Graham accused Obama "of making a joke of our political system," by raising $600 million "from God knows who" to finance his campaign.
"Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid need adult supervision," Graham said, raising the specter of total Democratic control in Washington should Obama be elected president.
McCain dismissed questions this morning about polls show him dropping further and further behind Obama, saying they are "all over the map" depending upon the turnout model. A new Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll showed the race narrowing to five points, with Obama at 49 and McCain at 44.
"I choose to trust my senses as well as polls. And the enthusiasm at almost all of our campaign events is at a higher level that I've ever seen," McCain said. "I see intensity out there and I see passion."
Yet McCain's crowd of about 2,000 people inside the gymnasium at the university paled in comparison to the enormous gathering in a Denver park today for Obama. Estimates for Obama's crowd exceeded 100,000 people, according to city officials.
