John McCain casts himself as underdog
One poll shows McCain trailing Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama by 10 points.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Trailing in the polls and facing a far better-financed opponent, Republican John McCain unveiled a retooled stump speech this morning at a rally in Virginia Beach where he cast himself as scrappy fighter committed to leading the country in a new direction.
A new ABC/Washington Post poll shows Democrat Barack Obama with a 10-point lead over McCain, whose favorability ratings are falling as Obama's rise. In Virginia and North Carolina, where McCain will campaign today, the candidates are statistically tied, according to an average of recent polls by pollster.com. In Pennsylvania, where McCain heads tonight for a rally in Blue Bell tomorrow, pollster.com shows McCain behind by an average of nearly eight points.
The Arizona senator told voters this morning in Virginia Beach that with 22 days to go, he is six points behind and has been written off by the national media.
"Sen. Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Sen. [Harry] Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq," McCain said. "But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them.
"What America needs in this hour is a fighter; someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people." McCain said. "I come from a long line of McCains who believed that to love America is to fight for her. I have fought for you most of my life. There are other ways to love this country, but I've never been the kind to do it from the sidelines."
With the troubled economy dominating voter concerns, Obama plans to unveil a new economic plan today. In an e-mail to reporters this morning, the Illinois senator promised to issue a rescue plan for the middle class.
"Our economy is facing its greatest uncertainty in over 70 years," the e-mail said. "Families who saw their incomes decline by $2,000 in the economic 'expansion' from 2000 to 2007 now risk seeing deeper income losses."
Obama speaks at 1:30 p.m. local time in Toledo, Ohio, where the unemployment rate is 7.4%.
McCain's chief strategist Steve Schmidt, in an interview on NPR's "Morning Edition," argued today that McCain's new "I'm a fighter" message will resonate with voters and that with three weeks left in the campaign, McCain still has time to overcome the polls.
