John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin made no mention of a deepening brawl with Democratic rival Barack Obama today, sticking instead to their standard stump speech at a rally in Virginia.
Palin continued to tout her decision to tell Congress "thanks, but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere" despite criticism that she is exaggerating her history of opposing wasteful spending.
And her attacks on Obama were unchanged from lines she has used over the past several days, despite a growing controversy over his use of the analogy "lipstick on a pig" when mocking the Republican ticket's promise of change yesterday.
Palin scoffed at Obama's promise to fight for Americans, telling the cheering crowd "there is only one man in this election who has every really fought for you" in reference to McCain's decorated service during the Vietnam war.
The Alaska governor also said she was surprised Obama would have brought up the issue of earmarks given that he has
asked for nearly a million dollars in earmarks for every day he'd spent in the Senate.
"We reformed the abuses of earmarks in our state, and it was while our opponent was requesting a billion dollars in earmarks as a senatorial privilege," Palin said in a public park in Fairfax, Virginia.
{{/usCountry}}"We reformed the abuses of earmarks in our state, and it was while our opponent was requesting a billion dollars in earmarks as a senatorial privilege," Palin said in a public park in Fairfax, Virginia.
{{/usCountry}}"What I was doing was vetoing half a billion as an executive responsibility."
McCain meanwhile pressed his promise to reform Washington and touting his history of bucking his own party and reaching across the aisle in order to serve the best interest of the people.