By DPA,
Washington : Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama criticised his Republican opponents Thursday for supporting President George W. Bush’s policies.
The Obama campaign said the speech by John McCain’s vice presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, at the Republican convention Wednesday night undermines their effort to portray themselves as candidates of change.
“The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush’s speech writer and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we’ve heard from George Bush for the last eight years,” said Bill Burton, the spokesman for the Obama-Joe Biden campaign.
“If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define change, as voting with George Bush 90 percent of the time, that’s their choice, but we don’t think the American people are ready to take a 10 percent chance on change,” Burton said.
The Obama camp fired back hours before McCain was set to accept the Republican nomination in a speech Thursday evening to conclude the party’s convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Palin, who was a relatively unknown politician from one of the least-populated US states, spoke at the convention Wednesday night in what was seen as a speech to introduce her to Americans.
She touted herself as a reformist who understands the needs of working class families and said McCain has a track record of getting things done – a shot at Obama’s perceived lack of experience.
“In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those like John McCain who use their careers to promote change,” Palin said to an enthusiastic crowd.