McCain puts Obama on the spot in final debate

Sen. John McCain played offense against Sen. Barack Obama during much of the final presidential debate as he challenged his rival on his policies, judgment and character.

Sen. Barack Obama says Sen. John McCain has made Bill Ayers the “centerpiece” of his campaign.

Obama said that he is the candidate who can bring “fundamental change” to the country and continued to try to link McCain to President Bush.

In one of the more forceful moments of the debate, McCain turned to Obama and said, “I am not President Bush.”

“If you want to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I’m going to give a new direction to this economy and this country,” the Arizona senator said.

Going into the debate, Obama was leading McCain by 8 percentage points in CNN’s average of national polls.

McCain asked Obama to clarify his relationship with Bill Ayers, a former 1960s radical who belonged to the Weather Underground.

“Mr. Ayers is not involved in this campaign, he has never been involved in my campaign, and he will not advise me in the White House,” Obama said.

McCain’s campaign has charged that Obama’s association with Ayers should cause voters to question his judgment.

Ayers was a founding member of the radical Weather Underground, a group that was involved in bombings in the early 1970s, including attacks on the Pentagon and the Capitol.

Obama said Wednesday that the fact the McCain keeps bringing Ayers up “says more about your campaign than it says about me.”

McCain again said that Obama has not repudiated comments made last weekend by Rep. John Lewis.

Lewis on Saturday compared the feeling at recent GOP rallies to those of segregationist George Wallace.

“I think Congressman Lewis’ point was that we have to be careful about how we deal with our supporters,” Obama said.

“I do think that he inappropriately drew a comparison between what was happening there and what had happened during the civil rights movement, and we immediately put out a statement saying that we don’t think that comparison is appropriate,” he said.

Asked why would the country be better off if their running mate became president rather than their opponent’s running mate, Obama said Sen. Joe Biden is “one of the finest public servants that has served in this country.”

Obama said Biden has a “consistent pattern” of “fighting for the little guy.”

“That’s what he’s done when it comes to economic policies that will help working families get a leg up,” he said.

McCain praised his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, as a “role model to women and reformers all over America.”

“It’s time that we had that breath of fresh air coming into our nation’s capital and sweep out the old-boy network and cronyism that’s been so much a part of it,” McCain said the first-term governor of Alaska.

Obama offered measured praise for Palin, whose qualifications have been widely scorned by Democrats. “I think that obviously she’s a capable politician,” Obama said, adding that she had “excited the base in the Republican party.”

McCain and Obama also went back-and-forth over the negative rhetoric that has dominated the campaign trail in recent days.

McCain accused Obama of spending “more money on negative ads than any campaign in history.”

Obama responded that McCain’s campaign had been running exclusively negative ads, and that the public found McCain to be running a more negative campaign than Obama.

McCain said he has a record of crossing party lines to get things done and told Obama that his “argument for standing up to the leaders of your party isn’t very convincing.”

Obama promised that he would “go through the federal budget page by page, line by line, and cut programs that don’t work” as president, echoing a vow his rival has made repeatedly.

McCain in turn promised an “across the board spending freeze.” He said he would balance the federal budget in four years, and went on to name specific programs including subsidies for ethanol when moderator Bob Schieffer pressed both candidates to identify specific budget cuts they would make.

The candidates also butted heads over tax policy during the debate.

Both candidates made frequent mention of “Joe the plumber.”

Last weekend, while Obama was canvassing for support in Holland, Ohio, the Democratic nominee ran into a man since dubbed Joe the plumber.

He asked Obama if he believed in the American Dream — he said he was about to buy a company that makes more than $250,000 a year and was concerned that Obama would tax him more because of it.

Obama explained his tax plan in depth, saying it’s better to lower taxes for Americans who make less money, so that they could afford to buy from his business. McCain characterized Obama’s plan as trying to “spread the wealth around.”

“We’re going to take Joe’s money, give it to Sen. Obama, and let him spread the wealth around. I want Joe the plumber to spread the wealth around,” McCain said.

He added, “Why would you want to increase anybody’s taxes right now? Why would you want to do that to anyone, anyone in America, when we have such a tough time?”

Obama countered that both he and McCain want to cut taxes, but that his plan would cut taxes for “95 percent of American families,” more than McCain’s plan.

McCain insisted that the government needed to help keep people in their homes, “putting a floor” under falling home ownership in the face of the mortgage crisis.

Obama charged that McCain’s plan could end up being a giveaway to “the banks” rather than to homeowners.

The national general election poll of polls consists of six surveys: LATimes/Bloomberg (October 10-13), CBS/New York Times (October 10-13), American Research Group (October 11-13), Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby (October 11-13), Gallup (October 11-13) and Diageo/Hotline (October 11-13). It does not have a sampling error.

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Blair blamed in police race claim

One of the UK’s most senior Asian police officers has launched an attack on the head of the Metropolitan Police.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur told a press conference he had been discriminated against “over a long period of time” by Sir Ian Blair.

Mr Ghaffur is taking his claims of racial and religious discrimination to an employment tribunal.

But Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said all sides should “shut up” and “get on with the job”.

Sir Paul said it was inappropriate for the argument to be conducted in public.

He added the Met will “robustly challenge” Mr Ghaffur’s claims.

Mr Ghaffur, who also claimed Sir Ian Blair sidelined him in his role as head of security for the 2012 Olympic Games, said his employment tribunal claim would include claims of race and religious discrimination.

He said: “My current case is essentially to do with my treatment at the highest levels of the Met, in particular the discrimination I have been subject to over a long period of time by the present commissioner Sir Ian Blair.

“I’m not seeking massive monetary benefits and I do not have grievances against the whole of the Met, an organisation that I dearly love and admire.”

He claimed to have been “victimised” since his grievances were made public.

‘Responsibilities’

In a press conference Sir Paul said he recognised Mr Ghaffur’s right to bring the claim but was unhappy about the issue being made public.

He said he was “very disappointed that attempts to reach a mediated settlement have failed”.

He added: “I do not think it was appropriate for this matter to be conducted in such a public way.

“That is a matter for him (Mr Ghaffur) to reconcile with what he considers to be his proper responsibilities as one of this country’s most senior police officers.

“The MPS will not at this time be commenting publicly in detail on the content of Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur’s claims, other than to say that we do not accept the charges of discrimination against us and intend to robustly challenge them.

“In short, I think it is long past time that we all shut up, stop making public statements about private disputes and get on with the job we are paid to do.”

Obama, McCain on same-sex marriage

Speaking to a group of evangelical Christians, Sen. Barack Obama said Saturday that his greatest moral failure — and the country’s — has been selfishness, but his opponent, Sen. John McCain, cited his failed first marriage.

Sen. Barack Obama takes questions from the Rev. Rick Warren on Saturday.

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, added that the country’s greatest shortcoming has been a tendency to not devote itself “to causes greater than ourselves.”

“I think after 9/11, my friends, we should have told Americans to join the Peace Corps, expand the military, serve a cause greater than your self-interest,” he said.

Obama told the Rev. Rick Warren that “we still don’t abide by that basic precept of Matthew: that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.

“That basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism; it applies to not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class.”

The Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency was the first time both candidates appeared on stage since they became the presumptive presidential nominees for their parties.

The event was held at Saddleback Church, a mega-church in southern California. The candidates were interviewed by Warren, pastor at the church and author of the best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

Warren has said he won’t endorse either candidate, preferring that his followers make up their own minds.

“I have to tell you up front, both of these guys are my friends. They both care deeply about America. They are both patriots,” Warren said in his introduction. “They have very different ideas on how America can be strengthened.”

McCain and Obama appeared briefly onstage together, shaking hands and posing with Warren between their one-hour interviews.

Obama acknowledged his drug and alcohol use as a teenager when asked about his personal failure.

“I was so obsessed with me and the reasons I might be dissatisfied, I couldn’t focus on other people,” he said.

McCain’s answer to the question on his own failings was succinct. “My greatest moral failing, and I have been a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage,” he said.

When asked what faith in Jesus means to him, McCain replied, “Means I’m saved and forgiven. Our faith encompasses not just America but the world.”

McCain got teary-eyed while discussing an experience with a guard during his experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. The guard, McCain said, drew a cross in the sand while he was praying on Christmas Day. “For a minute there, we were just two Christians worshipping together.”

Neither candidate shied away from a question about which current Supreme Court justice they would not have nominated.

Obama’s reply: Clarence Thomas.

I don’t think he was a strong enough jurist or a legal thinker at the time for that. I profoundly disagree with his interpretation” of the Constitution, he said.

McCain said he would have never nominated Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.

“This nomination should be based on the criteria on a proven record of strictly adhering to the Constitution and not legislating from the bench,” McCain added.

The Arizona senator said he was “proud” of President Bush for nominating conservative Justices Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the court.

McCain also touched on the conflict in Georgia, saying Russia’s behavior in sending troops into breakaway regions “is not acceptable in the 21st century.”

“They achieved a revolution. … Now the Russians are coming in there in an act of aggression. … We have to not only bring about cease-fire; we have to have honor,” he said, adding that Russia must respect Georgia’s sovereignty.

Warren pressed Obama on two hot-button issues among social conservatives: abortion and same-sex marriage.

Obama said that although he’s pro-choice and supports Roe v. Wade, his goal is to reduce the number of abortions in America.

“On this particular issue, if you believe that life begins at conception … and you are consistent, then I can’t argue with you on that,” he said. “What I can do is say, are there ways we can work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies?”

He also touched on same-sex marriage. When asked to define marriage, he told Warren, “It’s a union between a man and a woman.”

“For me as a Christian, it is a sacred union. God’s in the mix,” he said.

Obama added that he does support same-sex civil unions, saying, “I can afford those civil rights to others even if I don’t have … that view.”

McCain was also asked about his views on those issues. He said he would be a pro-life president and would support legislation favoring anti-abortion policy positions.

In terms of same-sex marriage, he supports traditional marriage defined as a union between a man and a woman but would let states decide rather than have a federal mandate.

Obama was asked what he would say if he could say whatever he wanted and face no public repercussions. He answered, “solving big problems are not going to be easy. We are all going to think about how we using things [energy-wise]. If we pretend like everything is free, we are betraying the tradition of America.”

The stakes are high for both candidates, who are actively courting so-called values voters and evangelicals, important voting blocs.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken July 27-29 showed that among white, born-again or evangelical voters, 67 percent are for McCain, with 24 percent for Obama.

Although it’s a strong showing for McCain, he’s lagging 11 percentage points behind President Bush in the 2004 election. Exit polls show that Bush beat Sen. John Kerry 78 percent to 21 percent among these voters.

McCain, who was raised an Episcopalian and now identifies himself as Baptist, rarely discusses his faith.

“I’m unashamed and unembarrassed about my deep faith in God. But I do not obviously try to impose my views on others,” McCain said in April.

Since then, the senator from Arizona has met with many of the evangelical leaders who did not support his candidacy during the primary season. At a private meeting this summer, dozens of the movement’s most prominent figures voted to support his campaign.

Obama’s positions in favor of abortion rights and same-sex civil unions also have created tension among evangelical voters otherwise drawn to his candidacy.

But the Democrat, who is Christian, has made it a point to discuss his religion on the trail this year and launched an ambitious outreach effort targeting these voters, including private summits with pastors and a major campaign aimed at young evangelicals.