This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7691374.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Obama criticises 'ugly' tactics Obama criticises 'ugly' tactics
(10 minutes later)
US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has attacked his rival for negative campaigning as the election campaign enters its final 10 days. US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has accused his Republican rival John McCain of negative campaigning 10 days before polling day.
Mr Obama, appearing in Nevada, said the "ugly phone calls, the misleading mail and TV ads, the careless, outrageous comments" were preventing change. Mr Obama, appearing in Nevada, said the "ugly phone calls, the misleading mail and TV ads, the careless, outrageous comments" were preventing "change".
Republican rival John McCain, aware of being behind in the polls as he spoke in New Mexico, said he was a "fighter". Mr McCain accused Mr Obama in New Mexico of starting a victory lap before winning the election.
He told supporters not to give up hope of a White House victory. The two men are focusing on vital states in the west of the country.
Both candidates were campaigning in western US states during the weekend.
Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado were all Republican at the last election but could prove crucial if the vote is tight on 4 November.Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado were all Republican at the last election but could prove crucial if the vote is tight on 4 November.
All the main national opinion polls suggest Barack Obama has a strong lead.
'Batman and Robin'
Mr Obama, returning to the campaign trail after two days off in which he flew to his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, said a negative campaign was not what the country needed.Mr Obama, returning to the campaign trail after two days off in which he flew to his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, said a negative campaign was not what the country needed.
"In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over. We've seen it before. And we're seeing it again today," he told a rally. "In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over..." he said in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Well, this isn't what we need right now.
"The American people don't want to hear politicians attack each other - you want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing middle-class families each and every day.""The American people don't want to hear politicians attack each other - you want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing middle-class families each and every day."
John McCain urged supporters not to give up hope Both Mr McCain and Mr Obama appeared in Albuquerque on SaturdayLater, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he sought to tie Mr McCain to the policies of the outgoing Republican President, George W Bush.
During his own rally in New Mexico, Mr McCain had attacked Mr Obama's tax policy as "re-distributing wealth" which would badly impact on the middle class. "John McCain's mad at George Bush, so opposed to George Bush's policies, that he voted with him 90% of the time for the past eight years," he told a mass rally.
Mr McCain told supporters to "stand up and fight. America's worth fighting for." "That's right, he decided to really stick it to George Bush 10% of the time... It's like Robin getting mad at Batman."
With a poll for Newsweek putting him 13 percentage points behind Mr Obama, Mr McCain said: "I will never allow this nation to be defeated ... my friends, we've got them just where we want them. 'Already written'
"We love being the underdog and we're going to win! What America needs now is a fighter." Speaking in Mesilla, New Mexico, John McCain seized on a report in the New York Times that the Obama camp had already drafted an inaugural address for the Democrat - an allegation the campaign has rejected as "completely false".
Attempting to distance himself from President George W Bush, Mr McCain said: "We cannot spend the next four years as we have much of the last eight, hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad." "Senator Obama's inaugural address is already written," Mr McCain said. "I'm not making it up. A lot of voters are undecided but he's decided for them."
While campaigning on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa, Mr McCain's vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said her criticism of Obama had not been negative. "What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before starting the victory lap," the Republican hopeful added.
"Don't be made to feel guilty. I'm not feeling guilty," she said as calls of "he's a socialist" were heard from the crowd. Speaking earlier in Albuquerque, and with a Newsweek poll putting him 13 points behind Mr Obama, Mr McCain said he was happy to be the "underdog" of the election race and was going to win because "what America needs now is a fighter".
Attempting to distance himself from President Bush, he added: "We cannot spend the next four years as we have much of the last eight, hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad."
While campaigning on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa, Mr McCain's vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, said her criticism of Obama had not been negative.
"Don't be made to feel guilty - I'm not feeling guilty," she said as calls of "he's a socialist" were heard from the crowd.