Democrat Barack Obama was trying to cement his lead in national and battleground-state polls Wednesday with a national television blitz and his first joint campaign appearance with former President Bill Clinton at a rally in Florida. Republican John McCain also was bringing his campaign to Florida, the state that handed the White House to George W. Bush eight years ago after a controversial recount. But McCain's election prospects appear increasingly dim. While McCain was desperately playing defense in states that have been reliably Republican, Obama was mounting an offensive in southern states like North Carolina which haven't been won by a Democratic presidential candidate for decades. The centerpiece of Obama's TV blitz is a 30-minute ad that will be broadcast during prime-time Wednesday evening. Flush with cash from its record-shattering fund-raising, the Obama campaign bought time on CBS, NBC and Fox for about $1 million per network. The infomercial is also scheduled to run on the Spanish-language Univision; BET, a cable TV channel targeting blacks, MSNBC and TV One. The Obama ad is expected to be a video montage of typical people talking about the challenges they face, with Obama explaining how he can help. A campaign adviser said the taped ad will feature a live cut-in to Obama, who is scheduled to be at a rally in Florida at the time. Then, Obama planned to appear with Bill Clinton for the first time at a Wednesday night rally in Kissimmee, Florida, near Orlando, timed to hit the late-evening news. Florida voted Republican in the last two presidential elections. Recent polls give Obama the edge in the state and both candidates are competing hard for its 27 electoral votes, one of the biggest blocs. McCain is purchasing loads of ad time, too. But the disparity between Obama and the Republicans is so wide that it has allowed Obama to spend in more states than McCain, appear more frequently in key markets and diversify his messages - some positive, some negative. McCain could only counter the Obama blitz with a Wednesday evening appearance on CNN's “Larry King Live.” McCain's argument is that he is better prepared than Obama to lead the U.S. in a troubled world because of his military background. The Arizona senator is a former Navy pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam War and held prisoner for more than five years. McCain hammered away at that theme at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, near Fort Bragg, an area with a big military presence. “I've been tested, Sen. Obama has not been tested, I won't be a president who has to be tested,” he said, warning of a dangerous world that he is best equipped to face. “I've fought for you in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate.” McCain also is arguing that his tightfisted approach to the economy - he promises to cut taxes and reduce government spending - is more likely to help the nation recover from the turmoil that has frozen credit markets. He tells voters Obama will raise their taxes. “Raising taxes makes a bad economy worse,” McCain said. Early voting in Florida and some other swing states appeared to be trending in Obama's favor. In North Carolina, for example, the turnout for early voting has been nearly a third higher than in 2004 and the number of Democrats has been close to double that of Republicans. Democratic voters in Florida have numbered about 100,000 more than Republicans, and Democrats also hold an edge so far in Colorado. McCain, who campaigned in Pennsylvania with running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, told voters that Obama is a traditional liberal Democrat seeking to redistribute wealth. Obama said a vote for McCain would be a vote for a third Bush term, arguing that their proposals are similar, especially on the economy. “John McCain has ridden shotgun as George Bush has driven our economy toward a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas,” Obama said.
