Obama Heads To Colorado
(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) - Barack Obama continues his swing through western battleground states today, with two campaign stops in Colorado.
A Democrat has not carried the state since 1992, when Bill Clinton won by a double-digit margin. In the last three presidential elections, Republicans have won Colorado by less than 10 points. In 2004, George Bush beat John Kerry 52% to 47%.
Today marks Obama's fifth campaign visit to Colorado, not including the days spent in Denver for the Democratic Convention.
In the final stretch of the election, Obama's tone and the pace of his campaign have noticeably changed. Yesterday he hosted three rallies in one day, including a late night event at the University of New Mexico. Many of the rallies have drawn impressive crowds of ten of thousands. Obama has not hosted a smaller town hall style event since early September.
Although his speeches continue to focus on the economy, Obama has been aggressively pushing the link between John McCain and George Bush. Mocking McCain for trying to distance himself from Bush, Obama said "it's like Tonto getting mad at the Lone Ranger" or "Robin getting mad at Batman."
"John McCain hasn't been a maverick, he's been a sidekick when it comes to George Bush's economic policies," he said last night.
In the coming days, Obama expected to continue to pounce on McCain's voting record and will continue to tie him to Bush.