McCain, Obama Visit Critical States, Just Over a Week Until Election

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, John McCain, are campaigning in two populous states seen as crucial to victory in the November fourth U.S. election.

Both men hold rallies Monday in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the state of Ohio.
An average of national polls compiled by RealClearPolitics-dot-com indicates the Democratic candidate is ahead of the Arizona senator by more than seven percentage points.

Aides for Senator Obama say he will make what they call his "closing argument" in speeches today, as Senator McCain continues what his campaign calls its "Road to Victory" rallies.

Meanwhile, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will hold an event in Virginia, and her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, campaigns in North Carolina.

On Sunday, Alaska's largest newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, endorsed Obama. The paper criticized McCain's economic policies and said Palin, who is governor of the traditionally Republican state, is not fit to become president in the event that the 72-year-old McCain dies in office.

On Sunday, Obama drew a crowd of more than 100,000 in Denver, in the western U.S. state of Colorado, where he linked McCain to the policies of unpopular President George Bush.

Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, McCain said he and the president share a common philosophy of the Republican Party, but said he has stood up against Mr. Bush and others on some key issues.

Later, at rallies in the states of Iowa and Ohio, he urged supporters to keep the presidency out of the hands of the Democrats, saying it would result in higher taxes and increased spending.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.