The US presidential race was shaping up as a battle over whether a strong character trumps solid policies Saturday as John McCain attacked his Democratic rival as too weak and Barack Obama worked to refocus voters on the issues.
McCain set out on the campaign trail with newly crowned running mate Sarah Palin with a vow to bring reform to Washington and a strong focus on their willingness to buck the party line in order to faithfully serve their country. But a new opinion poll showed American voters remained lukewarm about the youthful Alaska governor, doubting her readiness for major league politics.
While six in 10 of those surveyed approved of McCain's selection of Palin, only 42 percent believed Palin had the kind of experience it takes to serve effectively as president if that became necessary, according to the ABC News poll. Meanwhile, Obama's vice presidential pick, US Senator Joseph Biden, passed the experience bar with 66 percent approval, the survey found.
On Friday, Obama argued that the presidency was too important to be a "personality contest" and shot back at McCain for failing to focus on the issue which matters most to voters: how they were going to make ends meet in a troubled economy. "I think I've got a pretty good personality," Obama said after ridiculing McCain's campaign manager for saying the election was about personality not issues. "But that's not why I'm running for president.
I'm running for president to put people back to work, to give them health care, to make them have college that's affordable." McCain was attempting to co-opt Obama's mantle of change in a year in which polls show Americans overwhelmingly think their country is heading in the wrong direction. McCain mounted sharp attacks dismissing Obama as nothing but talk before delivering an acceptance speech that was long on personal history and short on policy proposals.
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