Obama Camp Responds to GOP Convention

On Wednesday morning, Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign rolled out its toughest talking points of this Republican National Convention. Chief Obama spokesperson Bill Burton seized on President George W. Bush’s role in St. Paul, and then tweaked the Republicans for ignoring Americans’ economic challenges:

Last night, President Bush enthusiastically passed the torch to the man who he wants to carry on his legacy for the next four years – his disastrous economic policies, his foreign policy that hasn’t made us safer and his misguided war in Iraq that’s costing us $10 billion a month. …

What’s most telling from their convention so far is what they’ve left out. Last night we heard no mention of the economy, no mention of how John McCain would jump-start the economy, no mention of how he would fix the housing crisis or create energy independence.

McCain’s campaign manager said yesterday this campaign would not be about the issues, and last night’s speeches showed he was right: the Republicans intend to offer no real change, just more of the same. American families who are struggling deserve better.

It’s a direct rebuke on the economy, Iraq and “more of the same.” Pundits and nervous Democrats have been endlessly speculating on whether Obama is hitting McCain hard enough, but this recent line of attacks seems to be working. After the Democratic National Convention last week, McCain’s unfavorable ratings hit a high for the year of 38 percent in a new USA Today poll. In fact, despite a summer facing harsher, more personal attacks, Obama’s unfavorable rating was at 32 percent. He also had a higher favorable rating, at 61 percent, to McCain’s 54 percent.