Obama Continues Attacks on McCain

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

WILKES BARRE, PA. -- Barack Obama continued to ratchet up his attacks against John McCain today, as he tries to shift the focus off of his race with Hillary Clinton and onto the presumptive Republican nominee.

“John McCain wants to continue the war in Iraq, I want to end it. John McCain wants to continue George Bush’s economic policies, I want to change them. And I think we will persuade the American people that we need a new direction because John McCain represents the policies of the past and we are the party of tomorrow,” Obama told a crowd at a town hall meeting here.

Although Obama spoke about the economy in his opening remarks, he used the opportunity to argue the McCain’s policy proposals would be an extension of the Bush administration.

“John McCain said a few weeks ago that, “the issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” Obama said quoting McCain. “And that’s clear, since all he’s offering is four more years of the Bush policies that have put our economy into a recession and put the American Dream out of reach for so many working people.

Obama’s criticisms of Hillary Clinton have decreased in recent days, as pundits have begun to argue that Clinton and Obama’s attacks on each other will divide the Democratic Party. Obama has dismissed these claims, but admitted that some comments may have caused “bad blood.’

“It’s true that Senator Clinton’s folks are passionate and my folks are passionate and some surrogates have said some things that created some bad blood,” Obama said.

However, Obama said that once the nominating process if over, he expects that he and Clinton will come together and focus on beating John McCain.