SPRINGFIELD, Va. — With just three days left to press his case, John McCain on Saturday delivered an unabashed pitch contrasting his patriotism with Barack Obama’s, sparking a nasty clash.
“We learn more and more about Sen. Obama. He said the other day that his primary victory ‘vindicated’ his faith in America,” McCain told supporters gathered just outside the Washington beltway. “My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends. I’ve always had faith in it, and I have been humbled and honored to serve it.”
Obama spokesman Bill Burton called McCain’s words “pathetic.”
McCain has previously said that he would never question Obama’s patriotism — but with time running out, he is increasingly stressing his long service to the nation compared with Obama’s relative inexperience.
