Promising Supporters to Get Tough, McCain “Ensures” He Will Talk About Obama's Associations Tonight

From CBS News’ John Bentley:


(NEW YORK) – With his supporters chanting “take the gloves off,” John McCain has indicated he will do just that in the final presidential debate before Election Day. “I want to do about half as good as Sarah did against poor old Joe Biden,’ McCain told a group of fundraisers last night.

He also told a St. Louis radio station that he would almost certainly bring up William Ayers tonight, because Obama said in an interview that McCain would not mention the domestic terrorist to his face. “I was astonished to hear him say that he was surprised for me to have the guts to do that,” McCain said. “Because the fact is that the question did not come up in that fashion so – you know – I think he's probably ensured that it will come up this time."

While the economy is the pressing issue on the minds of most voters, character issues could bubble to the top of the debate. “Sen. Obama has had relations with ACORN in the past,” McCain told a local Florida television station yesterday, referring to the Democratic voter registration organization. “Those, like his relations with William Ayers and others, need to be, Americans need to be fully informed.”