Obama >100,000
McCain 3,000
Obama Chants in Spanish With Denver Crowd of More Than 100,000
By Kim Chipman and Hans Nichols
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, working to win over Latino voters in Colorado, chanted ``si se puede,'' or ``yes we can,'' in Spanish along with an outdoor crowd in Denver estimated at more than 100,000.
Obama has a 12 percentage-point lead over Republican rival John McCain among likely voters in Colorado, according to a Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 News poll. The state hasn't picked a Democrat for president since 1992. Denver police chief Gerry Whitman estimated the crowd at more than 100,000, which campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said was Obama's largest U.S. turnout. A McCain speech two days ago in Denver drew 3,000 supporters.
With nine days to go until the Nov. 4 election and leading in most national polls, Obama today continued to hammer his central message that a McCain presidency would mean four more years of the ``failed'' economic policies of President George W. Bush. In recent days, Obama has mocked McCain's efforts to distance himself from the Republican president.
``Senator McCain said that actually he and President Bush `share a common philosophy,''' Obama said today. ``That's right, Colorado. I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk, owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common.''
McCain today outlined his differences with the unpopular president on the NBC ``Meet the Press'' program.
``I've been repeating for the last eight years that the spending was out of control,'' McCain said. ``I was the harshest critic of the failed strategy in Iraq.''
Still, McCain said on NBC that he has found common ground with Bush, 62, on other issues, such as the need for the $700 billion financial rescue plan.
Who Supported Bush?
The McCain camp fired back at Obama's claim that the Republican nominee is in lockstep with Bush. McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama, not McCain, is the one who has never challenged his own party.
``Barack Obama can't name a single issue or philosophy on which he's opposed the Democratic-controlled Congress -- not one,'' Bounds said in a statement. ``John McCain opposed President Bush's wasteful spending policy, his big-oil energy policy and his efforts to grow the federal government by 40 percent. Obama supported Bush on all three.''
Obama was scheduled to hold a second rally in Colorado today, in Fort Collins, before heading back to his home in Chicago for the night. Tomorrow he will stump in the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. His campaign said he'll make his ``closing argument'' in Canton, Ohio.
McCain and Obama are ramping up their attacks on each other. At a rally in Cedar Falls, Iowa, today, McCain scoffed at Obama's qualified support for offshore drilling and nuclear power.
`Blah, Blah'
``We talked about offshore drilling and he said he would quote, consider offshore drilling,'' said McCain. On nuclear power, McCain characterized Obama's position as ``Well it has to be safe, environment, blah, blah blah.''
McCain, who continues to trail Obama in national and some swing state polls, said today he's confident he will close the gap.
``We're doing fine,'' McCain said today on NBC. ``We have closed in the last week. We'll continue to close next week. We're going to be up very late on election night.''
A Rasmussen Reports national tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain 52 percent to 44 percent while other surveys, such as one conducted by Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, show McCain only a few points behind.
McCain today dismissed the public fuss over the wardrobe expenses of his running mate, first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. McCain said earlier on NBC that about a third of the $150,000 the Republican National Committee spent on clothing for Palin has been returned.
`A Frugal Life'
``She lives a frugal life. She and her family are not wealthy,'' McCain said. About a ``third of that money is given back. The rest will be donated to charity.''
Meanwhile, Obama aides are touting the Anchorage Daily News's endorsement of the Democratic nominee over McCain and Palin.
The newspaper, in making its endorsement yesterday, said Obama ``brings far more promise to the office.''
``In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand,'' according to the newspaper's editorial. ``The same cannot be said of Senator McCain.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Chipman in Albuquerque at kchipman@bloomberg.et
Last Updated: October 26, 2008 17:27 EDT
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