WASHINGTON (AFP) — As Democrat Barack Obama was readying Friday a trip to Europe and the Middle East, rival Republican presidential hopeful John McCain planned to head to the US heartland to potential swing states.
Obama was due Tuesday in Jordan, first stop on a tour that was to take him also to Israel and three European nations: Germany, France and Britain. As a side trip Obama also could travel to Iraq and Afganistan technically as part of a congressional trip.
With star broadcasters on the scene, US media outlets plan to give ample coverage to Obana's trip abroad; McCain's campaign has sought to portray Obama as a relative neophyte on international affairs.
And all the media interest in Obama appears to have McCain feeling a bit left out, and his camp has started grumbling that the Democrat is getting unfair positive treatment.
McCain's own trip to Europe and the Middle East in March did not trigger a media firestorm of interest. Asked about the trip Friday by USA Today, Charles Black, one of McCain's top advisers, said his team would ask television networks to give both candidates equal air time.
Republican Virginia lawmaker Eric Cantor slammed Obama's trip as "nothing but a political stunt."
Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, seen by some as a potential McCain running mate, said on MSNBC "I am concerned about the unprecedented political rallies that he's going to be having across Europe."
"It's one thing to meet with world leaders. It's another thing to basically be campaigning for president of the Europe, it seems. And that's a little unprecedented and concerning, if he is going to have political rallies," Pawlenty said.
News organizations have tripped over each other to get coverage deals for the trip with the Obama campaign. ABC's Charles Gibson, NBC's Brian Williams and CBS' Katie Couric, the top three news anchors of US network television, have already cut deals to follow Obama's footsteps next week in Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.
In all, some 200 journalists are vying for 40 accredited spots to accompany the 46-year-old candidate on his foreign trip, according to The Washington Post.
McCain, for his part, has decided to keep his campaign focused on economic issues and jobs, which polls show are US voters' top concerns.
The Arizona senator on Friday toured an automotive plant in Warren, Michigan.
Then he plans to criss-cross the country to Colorado, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania to talk about jobs, energy and health care. The four states are expected to be close electoral battle grounds in November.
In 2004, the election was won in Ohio. Obama lost his party's primary in all those states to Hillary Clinton except Colorado, and he needs to lock them in if he is going to win in November.
With Obama away, the Democratic Party expects to be defending him with tough broadsides next week at McCain's economic policies which the Democrats say are more of the same delivered by President George W. Bush.
McCain is saying he will balance the budget by 2013, the end of what would be a first term for him in the White House, but the Democrats say his plans would cause the budget deficit to keep balooning.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
