Obama skewers McCain at final pre-Denver event

AFP, August, 2008

BILLINGS, Montana (AFP) — Barack Obama Wednesday hammered Republican rival John McCain as ignorant about the plight of hard-pressed Americans at his last campaign event before accepting the Democrats' White House nomination.

Addressing about 225 veterans and members of military families here, Obama said the nation owed Vietnam War hero McCain gratitude for his public service.

"But we don't owe him our vote, because the stakes are too high," he said, drawing applause at his final event before heading to the Democratic convention in Denver later in the day.

"We have a choice in this election. Do we have a president who gets that people are struggling every day, who gets that veterans are struggling every day, or do we have somebody who doesn't get it?" the...