"We're facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and John McCain wants us to 'turn the page?'" Obama said.

"Well, I know the policies he's supported these past eight years and wants to continue are pretty hard to defend. I can understand why Senator McCain would want to 'turn the page' and ignore this economy."

Then he poked fun at Palin's folksy way of speaking by saying: "We're not going to let John McCain distract us. We're not going to let him hoodwink ya, and bamboozle ya, we're not going to let him run the okie doke on ya."

NEW ADS

The Obama campaign released a new ad hitting McCain as erratic during the past two weeks of economic crisis, a reference that could be interpreted as subtle reminder of McCain's age. The Arizona senator, age 72, would be the oldest person elected president for the first time.

McCain was cited by the Senate Ethics Committee in 1991 for "poor judgment" for taking part in the meetings with regulators but said his role was minimal. The committee ruled three senators improperly interfered with an investigation of Lincoln Savings and Loan, whose collapse cost taxpayers more than $2 billion. Its head Charles Keating was convicted of fraud.

But McCain's supporters and his campaign did not back down. They pushed the issue of Obama's character on the Sunday television talk shows and defended linking Obama with Ayers.

"The last four weeks of this election will be about whether the American people are willing to turn our economy and national security over to Barack Obama, a man with little record, questionable judgment, and ties to radical figures like unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

... contd.