Obama hits out at opponents' 'shameless lies'

Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin are "lying about their records", their Democratic rival Barack Obama said.

Mr Obama said his rivals' claim in a campaign advert that they were the "original mavericks" was "shameless".

The McCain campaign released the advert yesterday which included the claim that Mrs Palin stopped the so-called 'Bridge to Nowhere' project, a nearly US$400m proposal to build a bridge to an island in Alaska occupied by just 50 residents and an airport.

Mr McCain and Mrs Palin were "politicians lying about their records," Mr Obama said in an advert released in response.

Mrs Palin voiced support for the bridge during her campaign to become the youngest and first female governor of Alaska, although she was critical of the size, and later abandoned plans for the project.

She used the federal funds for other projects in Alaska.

Speaking in Farmington Hills, Detroit, in the key battleground state of Michigan, Mr Obama said: "A bunch of heat started generating because people were thinking: 'Why are we building a bridge to nowhere?'

"So a deal was cut where Alaska still got the money."

Jabbing his fist in the air, the 47-year-old Illinois senator went on: "They just didn't build a bridge with it, and now she's out there acting like she was fighting this thing the whole time."

Earlier, he told supporters in Flint, Michigan: "I mean, you can't just make stuff up. You can't just re-create yourself. You can't just reinvent yourself.

"The American people aren't stupid. What they are looking for is someone who has consistently been calling for change."

As Mr Obama continued his criticism of the mother-of-five and self-styled "hockey mom", he said last week's Republican national convention had helped define her.

"Mother, governor, moose shooter. That's cool," he said.

But he said Mrs Palin was really just another Republican politician, one who is stretching the truth about her record.

"When John McCain gets up there with Sarah Palin and says: 'We're for change,' what are they talking about?

"It was just like a month ago they were all saying: 'Oh, it's experience, experience, experience.'

"Then they chose Palin and they started talking about change, change, change."

The surprise selection of Mrs Palin, who described herself as a "pitbull in lipstick" at last week's convention, has reinvigorated the Republicans and Mr McCain's campaign, leading them to overtake Mr Obama in some polls for the first time since January.

In Dayton, Ohio, early this morning, the crowd waiting for Mr Obama to take to the stage chanted: "No pit bulls! No pit bulls!"

Mr Obama's attacks come after Mrs Palin has been criticising him for days on the campaign trail alongside Mr McCain.

And an ABC News-Washington Post poll suggested her influence on the race to the White House was damaging Mr Obama.

White women have moved from backing Mr Obama by eight points to supporting Mr McCain by 12 points, with majorities viewing Mrs Palin favourably and saying she boosts their faith in the 72-year-old Arizona senator's decisions, the poll showed.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe agreed that Mrs Palin had excited the Republican base.

"There's no question they believe Governor Palin has given them a surge of energy in the short term," he said.

"We'll see where we stand eight weeks from now."

McCain-Palin spokesman Tucker Bounds said Mr Obama's negative attacks showed he was increasingly desperate.

"Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin have shook up the establishment and delivered real reforms," he said.

"Barack Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."