Amid Criticism, Obama Turns Up Heat on McCain

LYNCHBURG, Va., Aug. 20, 2008— -- With the Democratic National Convention less than a week away, the political world is in a frenzy awaiting Sen. Barack Obama's running mate announcement.

Eyes are fixed on e-mail boxes and cell phone screens, all eagerly awaiting the message delivering one of Obama's most important campaign decisions to date.

But while the world's collective consciousness is focused on Obama's vice presidential pick, the Illinois senator seems more focused on his White House rival -- taking a sharper tone since returning from a Hawaiian vacation last week.

Obama is clearly mindful of the difficulty of attacking a war hero who spent 5½ years in a prisoner-of-war camp, just as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., faces his own challenges attacking Obama, the first black major party presidential nominee. Obama is protective of his image as a "hope-monger" and tries to be careful not to attack McCain personally, instead focusing on McCain's policy positions.

During a town hall meeting in Martinsville, Va., today, Obama acknowledged McCain's experience and service, but criticized him nonetheless.

"John McCain -- let's face it -- he has a compelling biography," Obama said, spelling out his challenge. "He is a POW, and so that is what people kind of think about instead of focusing on the fact that he wants to continue the same economic policies that George Bush has been doing for the last eight years."

Obama also decried McCain's allegation that his Democratic rival -- by pushing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq -- puts his personal ambition before the country's best interests.

While speaking at the VFW's 109th National Convention in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday, Obama said of McCain, "I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same."

At a town hall meeting at New Mexico State University today, McCain rejected that argument. "Let me be clear: I am not questioning his patriotism, I am questioning his judgment, " he said.