Oct 18, 2008 11:10 pm US/Eastern
Senators Obama, McCain Furiously Campaign
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
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Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama pose on stage after the Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University's Curb Event Center on Oct. 7, 2008, in Nashville, Tenn.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
With just 17 days to go until the election, but candidates are stumping furiously.
With Sen. McCain trying to salvage normally Republican stats now leaning toward his opponent.
John McCain took his campaign to states Saturday that used to be reliably red.
"We have to win the state of North Carolina and I'm counting on you to do it," McCain said.
McCain began his day in Concord, delivering his usual stump speech.
North Carolina's 15 electoral votes once seemed like a certainty for McCain – the state has voted for a Republican in the past seven presidential elections.
But Barack Obama's extensive operation to recruit voters in the state has transformed North Carolina into a competitive battleground.
McCain also made a stop in Woodbridge, Virginia, where he focused on a familiar theme.
"Let's have some straight talk – the real winner this week was Joe the Plumber," McCain said. "He's the only person to get a real answer out of Barack Obama."
McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, focused on Joe as well at a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before traveling to New York to appear on "Saturday Night Live."
Obama spent his day in the hotly contested state of Missouri. Local police say 100,000 people attended an afternoon rally in St. Louis, where Obama targeted McCain on taxes.
"John McCain is so out of touch with the struggles you are facing that he must be the first politician in history to call a tax cut for working people 'welfare,'" Obama said.
Obama picked up some important endorsements this weekend. For the first time, the Chicago Tribune is backing a Democrat for President. The L.A. Times also gave Obama the nod, with just two and a half weeks to go before the election.
The Daily News is also endorsing Sen. Obama, eight months after backing his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the democratic primary.
The paper says Obama holds greater promise in repairing the economy and restoring faith in government than McCain.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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