Meantime, Obama, in what appeared to be a symbolic effort to drive home the reality of his opponents' back-to-the-wall plight, began a new wave of TV ads in states Democrats haven't carried in years, including Georgia, North Dakota and McCain's home state of Arizona. Obama will hold his final rally in Virginia, which hasn't gone Democratic in a presidential election since 1964. Polls show a competitive race, with Obama ahead by 8 points in a Washington Post poll released last week.
In another sign that he doesn't intend to let up until the election, Obama delivered a sarcastic response to Vice President Dick Cheney's remark, at a Republican rally in Wyoming, urging supporters to join him in voting for McCain.
Sounding confident, Obama told a Pueblo, Colo., crowd that he wanted to "congratluate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it. [He] had to vote with George Bush 90 percent of the time and agree with Dick Cheney to get it. McCain had to serve as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years. So Senator McCain worked hard to get Dick Cheney's support."
