Respectfully, Mr. President: Thank You! -- ("Obama has not done anything?") CHECK THIS OUT!!!

Updated Nov. 1, 2010 with video "Rachel Maddow On President Obama & Democrats Accomplishments" (More detailed list of accomplishements below)

There are lots and lots of Progressives(?) clamoring "Barack Obama has not done anything", No, I'm not exaggerating, that's what many, many are saying -- while some of them may be parroting Republican Operatives' 'Talking Points", some of these voices are actually Republican Operatives in our midst, including many who infiltrated or sold out in the pro-immigrant rights movement; their goal? Well, not to difficult to figure out, isn't? (By all predictions, the Democrats are going to be crushed tomorrow) Bottom line is, many gullible folk are believing them.

So, after reading "ThisIsMyTime" Post with a list of some of President Obama and Dems' accomplishments in spite of vicious attacks and blatant obstructionism, do you think these voices are telling the truth to us all?

Most of us know someone who is repeating the Right Wing lies, send them this information, ask them to read it and then ask them to repeat what they've been saying.

Millions of us worked very hard to elect President Obama and we accomplished this historic and revolutionary act, take credit for your hard work and foresight, but let's not slip into complacency, the work is far from done, there is so much that needs to be corrected/changed, let's continue with our pledge to work for change, to pressure our Representatives to act, after all, this is the bargain we entered with then Candidate Barack Obama, just to be clear, this is what we agreed on "That we were going to help/make him do it", for,

"WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR" And,

That "YES, WE CAN - SI SE PUEDE"

Aurora

Obama Will Triumph -- So Will America by Frank Schaeffer

---

by ThisIsMyTime [Daily Kos]
Wed Oct 13, 2010 at 08:56:57 AM PDT

As the battle for control of Congress has tightened and the so called enthusiasm gap is evaporating, we must continue speaking to voter about what Democrats in Congress have accomplished.

If you are a democrat and you have an enthusiasm gap, I am hoping that this could change your lack of enthusiasm.

The facts are in the last 23 months, the following are things that I think are worth keeping scores about what President Obama and the Democratic congress have accomplished that get over looked without an ounce of credit by some who are always disappointed about something.

More below the fold...
ThisIsMyTime's diary :: ::

Crossposted at The People's View

I think it is important to not only speak to voters about the fact we are moving forward together but remind activists to see what they have been resisting.

I don't know about you but I am ready to go and these are the reasons why I have more Enthusiasm than ever:

Health Care Reform:
Coverage can't be denied to children with pre-existing conditions.
Adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents' health plans.
Freepreventive care.
Rescinding coverage is now illegal.
Eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage.
Restricting annual limits on insurance coverage.
More options to appeal coverage decisions.
$5 billion in immediate federal support to affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions.
$10 billion investment in Community Health Centers.
Create immediate access to re-insurance for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees.
Made an $80 billion deal with the pharmaceutical industry to contribute to cut prescription drug costs for the nation's seniors reduce the size of the "donut hole" in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit.

Economy:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has worked. The Economy Has Been Growing - take a look at the graph of GDP growth between 2007 thru 2010.
US auto industry rescue plan -- Detroit making profits again and at least 1 million jobs saved.
Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 that extended Unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks and more.
Provided $14.7 billion in small business loans increasing minority access to capital.
The $26 billion aid to states package preventing large-scale layoffs of teachers and public employees.

Banking and Financial Reform
Signed a sweeping bank-reform bill (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)into law
Managed the $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that Banks have repaid 75% of TARP funds, bringing the cost down to $89B as of June 2010.
Cuts Salaries For 65 Bailout Executives
Closed offshore tax safe havens, tax credit loopholes on companies that use the tax laws to ship American Jobs oversees. HR 4213.
Signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act to fight fraud in the use of TARP and recovery funds, and to increase accountability for corporate and mortgage frauds.
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act

VETOED Big Banks' notarization sweetheart deal

Education
Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 that increased the amount of federal Pell Grant awards and enabled the stripping of banks privileges as intermediaries for student loan servicing.
Created the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion program to reward States that submit the best proposals for change.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funded over $100 Billion for reforms to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education, early learning programs, college affordability and improve access to higher education, and to close the achievement gap.

Jobs
The $787 billion economic stimulus package has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs slowing the bleeding
Jobs for Main Street Act (2010)injected $27.5 Billion for Highways, $8.4 Billion for Transit into the country's transportation system to create jobs and spur economic activity.
A $33 Billion Jobs Package that will allow Small businesses to get $5,000 tax credit for new hires.
A $26 billion State Aid Package Jobs Bill saving 300,000 teachers and public workers jobs from unemployment.
The Auto bailout saved 1 million jobs.

Green Energy
Implemented renewable fuels mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022, four times what we currently consume.
Automakers will be required to meet a fleet-wide average of New Gas Mileage Standards at 35.5 MPH by 2016.
A $60 billion investment in renewable and clean energy.

Housing
$275 billion dollar housing plan - $75 billion dollars to prevent at-risk mortgage debtors already fallen victim to foreclosures and $200 billion to bring about confidence to offer affordable mortgages and to stability the housing market.
Established "Opening Doors" to end the homelessness of 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States in 10 years.
Provided $510 Million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing. ref
Provided $2 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehab, resell, or demolish in order to stabilize neighborhoods.
Provided $5 billion for Weatherization Assistance Program for low income families to weatherize 1 million homes per year for the next decade.
Provided grants to encourage states and localities to take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.

Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security
giving $250 economic stimulus check to 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2009.
Cutting prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients by 50% and began eliminating the plan's gap ("donut hole") in coverage.
Passing as part of H.R.3962 (Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010) a $6.4 billion measure reversing a 21 percent cut in physician payments that would have started a flood of rejections by some doctors of seniors covered by Medicare.
Expanded eligibility for Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,400 per year for an individual).

Military Veterans and Families
Implemented a strategic plan to increase the hiring of Veterans and Military spouses throughout the Federal civil service.
Provided for the expenses of families of to be at Dover AFB when fallen soldiers arrive.
Passed the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 increasing the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.
Declared the end of the war in Iraqi bringing back nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home to their families.
Donated 250K of Nobel prize money to Fisher House, a group that helps provide housing for families of patients receiving medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers

LBGT
Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.
Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)
Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover Gay employees taking unpaid leave to care for their children of same-sex partners
Lifted the HIV Entry Ban.
Implemented HUD Policies that Would Ban Discrimination Based On Gender Identity

Well, there is more but you see we have done a lot. We have the tools to shape the message. We need to move forward together and focus on what we will accomplish forward in the coming years. That is why we have to work hard for the next three weeks to GOTV.

These are my kids at the One Nation March about a week ago. They are fired up as I am. Are you?

Yes indeed, there is more, check out this list:

Accomplishments by the Administration and Congress on LGBT Equality

No one should rest until we have full LGBT equality. But after eight years of Republican disrespect, progress is being made. In its first 20 months, the Obama Administration has...

By Andrew Tobias | Contact DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias is the author of several books, including The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need and The Best Little Boy in the World.

1. Reversed an inexcusable US position by signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
2. Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees in 2009 and, further, in 2010
3. Endorsed the Baldwin-Lieberman bill, The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, to provide FULL partnership benefits to federal employees
4. Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
5. Lifted the HIV Entry Ban effective January 2010
6. Released the first Presidential PRIDE proclamations since 2000
7. Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history
8. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King, joining past recipients such as Rosa Parks
9. Appointed the first ever transgender DNC member
10. Issued diplomatic passports, and provided other benefits, to the partners of same-sex foreign service employees
11. Committed to ensuring that HUD's core housing programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity
12. Conceived a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders -- the nation's first ever -- funded by a three-year HHS grant to SAGE
13. Testified in favor of ENDA, the first time any official of any administration has testified in the Senate on ENDA
14. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded existing United States federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability -- the first positive federal LGBT legislation in the nation's history
15. Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans (like these), including more than 20 Senate-confirmed appointments
16. Sworn in Ambassador David Huebner
17. Changed the culture of government everywhere from – among others – HUD and HHS to the Export-Import Bank, the State Department, and the Department of Education

18. Appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, instead of conservatives who would have tilted the Court even further to the right and virtually doomed our rights for a generation. To wit (quoting McCain): "I've said a thousand times on this campaign trail, I've said as often as I can, that I want to find clones of Alito and Roberts. I worked as hard as anybody to get them confirmed. I look you in the eye and tell you I've said a thousand times that I wanted Alito and Roberts. I have told anybody who will listen. I flat-out tell you I will have people as close to Roberts and Alito [as possible]."

19. Named open transgender appointees (the first President ever to do so)

20. Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)

21. Emphasized LGBT inclusion in everything from the President's historic NAACP address ("The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights.") . . . to the first paragraph of his Family Day proclamation ("Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things") and his Mothers Day proclamation ("Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by two parents, a single mother, two mothers, a step-mom, a grandmother, or a guardian. Mother's Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate these extraordinary caretakers") . . . to creating the chance for an adorable 10-year-old at the White House Easter Egg roll to tell ABC World News how cool it is to have two mommies . . . to including the chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the President of Goldman Sachs in the small audience for the President's economic address at the New York Stock Exchange . . . to welcoming four gay couples to its first State Dinner
22. Recommitted, in a televised address, to passing ENDA . . . repealing Don't Ask/Don't Tell . . . repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act
23. Spoken out against discrimination at the National Prayer Breakfast ("We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are -- whether it's here in the United States or, as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.")
24. Dispatched the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to call on the Senate to repeal Don't Ask / Don't Tell, in the meantime dialing back on discharges
25. Launched a website to gather public comment on first-ever federal LGBT housing discrimination study
26. Appointed long-time equality champion Chai Feldblum one of the four Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
27. Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept our relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way, even if their state of residence does not yet permit legal marriage
28. Produced U.S. Census Bureau PSAs featuring gay, lesbian, and transgender spokespersons.
29. Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.
30. Appointed Retired Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, an early public champion of open service in the military, to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
31. Required all grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals.
32. Adopted transgender recommendations on the issuance of gender-appropriate passports that will ease barriers to safe travel and that will provide government-issued ID that avoids involuntary "outing" in situations requiring ID, like hiring, where a gender-appropriate driver's license or birth certificate is not available
33. Extended domestic violence protections to LGBT victims
34. Publicly invited shunned MIssissippi high school prom student to the White House
35. Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners
36. Issued guidance specifically to assist LGBT tenants denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
37. Issued a National HIV/AIDS Strategy praised as "long-overdue" by the Task Force, Lambda and others
38. Successfully fought for UN accreditation of IGLHRC (the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission) -- against Republican attempts to block it
39. Convened the first-ever anti-bullying summit to craft a national strategy to reduce bullying in schools.
40. Awarded $13.3 million to the LA Gay & Lesbian Center to create a model program for LGBTQ youth in the foster care system.

The Administration will continue to make steady progress on our issues whether we help strengthen its hand or not. But the stronger it is, the faster that progress will come.

Today on the presidential campaign trail

By The Associated Press

IN THE HEADLINES

McCain in new hard-hitting ad hammers Obama over Ayers association ... Obama says McCain trying to divide country with angry speeches and TV ads ... Politically charged and tightly held, Palin ethics report to be released in Alaska ... With economy worsening, working-class voters slowly warm to Obama ... McCain's missing the mark with Hispanics in swing states

___

McCain raises Ayers in ad

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican John McCain on Friday hammered his Democratic rival Barack Obama over his association with former 1960s radical William Ayers in a new TV ad.

"When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied," the ad said.

The commercial is arguably McCain's sharpest yet, and it uses Obama's link to Ayers to assert that Obama has "blind ambition" and "bad judgment."

McCain's campaign said the ad will run nationally.

The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Obama and Ayers are not close but that they worked together on two nonprofit organizations from the mid-1990s to 2002. Ayers also hosted a small meet-the-candidate event for Obama in 1995 as he first ran for the state Senate.

___

Obama says McCain trying to stoke anger, division

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama on Friday said John McCain is trying to divide the country with angry remarks and TV ads.

"It's not hard to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division," Obama told Ohio voters.

The Illinois senator said American's aren't looking for someone who can divide the country, but "they are looking for someone who can lead this country."

"Now more than ever it is time to put country ahead of politics," he said. Obama is criticizing McCain's economic plans during his two-day Ohio tour.

He is not directly responding on the stump to the Republican's claim that Obama has associated with a former 1960s terrorist. But Obama has told a radio talk show that he thought the ex-radical William Ayers, now a college professor, was rehabilitated.

___

Sensitive Palin ethics report kept secret, for now

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Sworn to secrecy, Alaska lawmakers have begun reviewing a lengthy and politically sensitive investigative report focusing on whether Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her authority as governor.

The first-term Alaska governor has been accused of firing a state commissioner to settle a family dispute. But the report is also expected to touch on whether Palin's husband meddled in state affairs and whether her administration inappropriately accessed employee medical records.

The inquiry, approved by a legislative committee's bipartisan vote, began before Republican presidential nominee John McCain named Palin his running mate. Since then, the case has been dogged by accusations of political influence.

The investigation focuses on her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Monegan says Palin and her husband pressured him to fire Mike Wooten, a state trooper involved in a nasty divorce and custody dispute with the governor's sister. When Monegan resisted, he says, he was fired.

Palin's critics say that shows she used her office to settle family affairs.

___

McCain losing ground with working-class whites

KITTANNING, Pa. (AP) — The steel mills and coal mines of western Pennsylvania helped fuel the nation's economic engine. Today, old factory shells and boarded-up storefronts stand as bleak reminders of those once-prosperous times.

But the voters in working-class enclaves such as this still are a sought-after prize in presidential politics, and many are belatedly backing Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

In the Democratic primaries, working-class whites consistently supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Later polls showed them overwhelmingly favoring Republican nominee John McCain.

Now, driven by fears that their personal finances could further deteriorate, many see Obama as the better choice — their thinking in some cases driven more by concern about how McCain would handle the economy than any growing admiration for his rival.

"I don't know that there's anything I particularly like about him (Obama), but I dislike McCain, and I dislike the way the country is, and Republicans need to change," said lifelong Republican Ruth Ann Michel, 64, a retiree shopping in a market in Butler on a recent day. She said her vote for Obama would be her first for a Democratic presidential candidate.

___

McCain missing the mark with Hispanics

LAS VEGAS (AP) — John McCain — who once risked his career on an immigration reform bill that was embraced by Hispanics — is now struggling to win these same voters, and falling perilously below the level of support that helped lift President Bush to the White House.

McCain won nearly 70 percent of Hispanic voters in his last bid for Senate in border-state Arizona is watching a first-term Illinois senator run away with those voters.

___

THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama campaigns in the Ohio cities of Chillicothe and Columbus.

Joe Biden talks to voters in Springfield, Mo.

___

THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain holds a rally in La Crosse, Wis.

Sarah Palin has no public schedule.

___

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"This election is going to be decided when a husband and wife sit at a kitchen table, or a single parent sits at the kitchen table, looks at their bills and figures out who is most likely to help them with their financial condition." — Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.

___

STAT OF THE DAY:

An AP survey of election officials nationwide found that as of Oct. 1, the number of registered Democrats had grown by nearly 5 percent since 2004 — outpacing overall population growth in the 28 states where information on voter registration by party was available for 2004 and 2008. During the same time, the GOP lost more than 2 percent of its registered voters

Compiled by Ann Sanner.

"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets. "
Napoleon Bonaparte

http://hladc-sf.blogspot.com
http://elrinconcitodeaurora.blogspot.com/

McCain plans fiercer strategy against Obama

Source: Cynthia I:

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

McCain plans fiercer strategy against Obama

By Michael D. Shear

updated 10:22 a.m. PT, Sat., Oct. 4, 2008

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Being so aggressive has risks for McCain if it angers swing voters, who often say they are looking for candidates who offer a positive message about what they will do. That could be especially true this year, when frustration with Washington politics is acute and a desire for specifics on how to fix the economy and fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is strong.

Robert Gibbs, a top Obama adviser, dismissed the new McCain strategy. "This isn't 1988," he said. "I don't think the country is going to be distracted by the trivial." He added that Obama will continue to focus on the economy, saying that Americans will remain concerned about the country's economic troubles even as the Wall Street crisis eases somewhat.

VIDEO

Swing states are now a priority Oct. 4: MSNBC's Chuck Todd takes a look at the latest polls in key battleground states as the presidential election heads into the final month. MSNBC

'Just the beginning'
Moments after the House of Representatives approved a bailout package for Wall Street on Friday afternoon, the McCain campaign released a television ad that challenges Obama's honesty and asks, "Who is Barack Obama?" The ad alleges that "Senator Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes. Ninety-four times. He's not truthful on taxes." The charge that Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes has been called misleading by independent fact-checkers, who have noted that the majority of those votes were on nonbinding budget resolutions.

A senior campaign official called the ad "just the beginning" of commercials that will "strike the new tone" in the campaign's final days. The official said the "aggressive tone" will center on the question of "whether this guy is ready to be president."

McCain's only positive commercial, called "Original Mavericks," has largely been taken off the air, according to Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ads.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's performance at Thursday night's debate embodied the new approach, as she used every opportunity to question Obama's honesty and fitness to serve as president. At one point she said, "Barack Obama voted against funding troops [in Iraq] after promising that he would not do so."

Palin kept up the attack yesterday, saying in an interview on Fox News that Obama is "reckless" and that some of what he has said, "in my world, disqualifies someone from consideration as the next commander in chief."

McCain hinted Thursday that a change is imminent, perhaps as soon as next week's debate. Asked at a Colorado town hall, "When are you going to take the gloves off?" the candidate grinned and replied, "How about Tuesday night?"

Yesterday in Pueblo, Colo., McCain made clear that he intends to press Obama on a variety of familiar GOP themes during the debate, as he accused the Democrat once again of getting ready to raise taxes and increase government spending.

"I guarantee you, you're going to learn a lot about who's the liberal and who's the conservative and who wants to raise your taxes and who wants to lower them," McCain said.

A senior aide said the campaign will wait until after Tuesday's debate to decide how and when to release new commercials, adding that McCain and his surrogates will continue to cast Obama as a big spender, a high taxer and someone who talks about working across the aisle but doesn't deliver.

Two other top Republicans said the new ads are likely to hammer the senator from Illinois on his connections to convicted Chicago developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko and former radical William Ayres, whom the McCain campaign regularly calls a domestic terrorist because of his acts of violence against the U.S. government in the 1960s.

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. appears to be off limits after McCain condemned the North Carolina Republican Party in April for an ad that linked Obama to his former pastor, saying, "Unfortunately, all I can do is, in as visible a way as possible, disassociate myself from that kind of campaigning."

McCain advisers said the new approach is in part a reaction to Obama, whose rhetoric on the stump and in commercials has also become far harsher and more aggressive.

They noted that Obama has run television commercials for months linking McCain to lobbyists and hinting at a lack of personal ethics — an allegation that particularly rankles McCain, aides said.

Campaigning in Abington, Pa., yesterday, Obama continued to focus on the economy, even as he lashed out at McCain.

"He's now going around saying, 'I'm going to crack down on Wall Street' . . . but the truth is he's been saying 'I'm all for deregulation' for 26 years," Obama said. "He hasn't been getting tough on CEOs. He hasn't been getting tough on Wall Street. . . . Suddenly a crisis comes and the polls change, and suddenly he's out there talking like Jesse Jackson."

Obama highlighted a new report showing a reduction of more than 159,000 jobs last month, and he linked the bad economic news to McCain and Palin.

"Governor Palin said to Joe Biden that our plan to get our economy out of the ditch was somehow a job-killing plan; that's what she said," Obama told a crowd of thousands. "I wonder if she turned on the news this morning. . . . When Senator McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know a thing or two about, because the policies they've supported and are supporting are killing jobs in America every single day."

'A very aggressive last 30 days'
McCain issued a statement yesterday saying the bailout bill "is not perfect, and it is an outrage that it's even necessary. But we must stop the damage to our economy done by corrupt and incompetent practices on Wall Street and in Washington."

Speaking in Pueblo just as the House was finishing deliberations on the package, McCain blamed fellow lawmakers for the failure to adequately regulate the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"It was the Democrats and some Republicans in the Congress who pushed back and did not allow those reforms to take place, and that's a major reason we are in the trouble we are in today," he said. "Those members of Congress ought to be held accountable on November 4th as well."

Before the bailout crisis, aides said, McCain was succeeding in focusing attention on Obama's record and character. Now, they say, he must return to those subjects.

"We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days," said Greg Strimple, one of McCain's top advisers. "We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama's aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans."

Staff writers Michael Abramowitz and Perry Bacon Jr. contributed to this report.

Related McCain Plans Gloves-Off Fight

With a month left before election, GOP camp aims to shift focus from economy to Obama's character.

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"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets. "
Napoleon Bonaparte

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http://elrinconcitodeaurora.blogspot.com/