Bolling takes aim at Obama

Story by Chris Graham
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Bill Bolling apparently got the memo about making sure to talk up John McCain – and take a shot or two at Barack Obama.

“Contrary to, I guess, conventional wisdom, I happen to be one who believes as this campaign moves forward that Sen. McCain’s candidacy in Virginia is going to become stronger and stronger, and no matter how much time Sen. Obama may spend in Virginia, I’m confident that in November, Virginians are going to vote for John McCain for president,” Bolling said in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign with Virginia reporters today, against a backdrop of Obama’s first day of a two-day campaign swing through the Old Dominion.

The comments from the sitting lieutenant governor also came a day after U.S. Sen. John Warner and Congressman Tom Davis equivocated on the issue of McCain’s electoral possibilities in Virginia in the fall in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign. “There is an old adage in politics, your vote counts. Well, this is where that is going to prove the case. Virginia is a good, tight race,” Warner said on the call, before Davis offered that an Obama-Tim Kaine ticket could be a boost to the Democrats’ chances on Nov. 4. “You would have to concede that having a governor from Virginia running on the ticket would be of some help to Obama in Virginia,” Davis said.

There is still no word about who Obama is going to tap to serve as his vice-presidential running mate, as speculation runs rampant about the Illinois senator’s presence in Virginia at a time when it is expected that he will be making an announcement in short order. Obama began the day in Martinsville with former governor Mark Warner meeting with Southside residents to talk about the economy, with stops scheduled later today in Lynchburg and on Thursday in suburban Richmond and Chesapeake focused on the same.

The Obama campaign also unveiled a new TV ad that began airing in Virginia and several other battleground states beginning today that highlights the Obama tax plan that the campaign says will cut taxes for middle-class families three times as much as the McCain tax plan and also brings attention to McCain’s inclusion of tax breaks for corporations that move jobs overseas and for Big Oil companies already making record profits.

Bolling took aim at that point of vulnerability for the McCain camp, stating bluntly that on issues of national security and economic security, “John McCain’s positions are right, and Barack Obama’s positions are wrong.”

“John McCain understands that we will get the economy moving again by cutting taxes, by letting families and businesses keep more of their hard-earned money and having the government take less, and by reining in this out-of-control spending that’s taking place today in Washington, D.C. John McCain understands that we get the economy moving again by empowering the private sector, not government, and by unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people,” Bolling said.

“When it comes to background knowledge and experience, when it comes to exercising sound judgment on the criical issues facing the country, John McCain is right for America, and Barack Obama is wrong,” Bolling said.