Obama's two-day trip to Florida was timed to coincide with the start of early voting.
The state is a must-win for McCain, and, although it's somewhat less crucial for Obama, Florida is a state that Democrats deeply covet after the party's disputed loss in 2000. Bush carried the state more clearly in 2004.
Polls suggest Florida is again a battleground. Here, as elsewhere, Obama was on the offensive. His first stop, in Tampa, took him to a GOP stronghold where winning is less important than holding down McCain's victory margin. Orlando is much more competitive. Obama was scheduled to campaign yesterday with former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.
With a healthy bank account and a lead in every state he needs to win, Obama was focused on taking states that Republicans carried four years ago. With the exception of a stop later this week in Wisconsin, the Democratic nominee will spend the next several days exclusively in so-called red states: Florida, Virginia and Iowa.
The Obama campaign reported over the weekend that it raised $150 million in September, shattering all campaign fundraising records and giving Obama a huge advantage. McCain is taking public financing, so his resources are more limited.
Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, said yesterday that, despite Obama's money advantage, McCain would have sufficient funds for the final push before Nov. 4. He estimated that with McCain's $84.1 million in federal funding, plus money raised by the Republican National Committee and various state committees, McCain had access to $400 million for the general election.
McCain visited St. Charles, Mo., where he attracted about 2,500 people to a rally yesterday. Over the weekend, Obama drew an estimated 100,000 supporters to a rally in downtown St. Louis.
National polls give Obama a lead of 48.4 percent to McCain's 44 percent, according to Realclearpolitics.com. With many predicting an uphill struggle for the 72-year-old Republican, McCain castigated the media, saying the national press "has written us off, as they have several times in the past."
"I'm not George Bush," he said. He promised to "take the country in a new direction" and offer plans to protect homeowners from foreclosure and retirees from tax increases.
"I've been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old, and I have the scars to prove it," he said.
