"I've been paying attention, John McCain," he said. "That's the news. So John McCain may like to say he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but so far all he's done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq that's cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
"I intend to bring [it] to an end so that we can actually start going after al Qaeda in Afghanistan and in the hills of Pakistan like we should have been doing in the first place.That's the news, John McCain," Obama said.
McCain also went after Obama for considering breaking his pledge to enter into the public financing system should he be the Democratic presidential nominee.
Obama's campaign received a financial contribution from its one millionth donor today, and his campaign has been floating the idea that there is no need for him to enter the public financing system, because his support is so widespread and from the grassroots.
"Sen. Obama signed a piece of paper and pledged to take public financing for his campaign if I did the same," McCain said.
"He signed a piece of paper, he made a commitment," he said. "I made that commitment. I made that commitment to the American people. I will keep it. I believe that Sen. Obama should keep his commitment also, which means taking public financing. The rest of it is ground noise."
McCain made the remarks today after receiving the endorsement of evangelical leader John Hagee, founder and senior pastor of the 19,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio.
Hagee cited McCain's support of Israel and his opposition to legal abortion as reasons why he was backing him.
The pastor is best known in some Washington circles as a founder of Christians United for Israel and for his belief, as laid out in his book "Jerusalem Countdown" that the end of days scenario as spelled out in the Book of Revelation will occur after Russia, allied with the Islamic world, attacks Israel.
"Russia is going to get in that position and they are literally, with all that massive military force, going to attack Israel," Hagee told ABC News in 2006. "This is recorded in Ezekiel 38 and 39. God himself is literally going to destroy that army. Decimate it."
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