Fayetteville (North Carolina, US), Oct. 20 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has rubbished the McCain campaign''s oft-repeated charge that he is promoting a brand of socialism and welfare that could have dangerous implications for the future of the United States.

Taking McCain head on at a rally here on Sunday, Obama forcefully, called McCain''s tactics "the oldest trick in the book," a scare tactic, and nothing more than name calling.

Toleda (Ohio, US), Oct. 20 : Seeking to project himself as the defender of the American middle class, Republican presidential nominee John McCain on Sunday said that he wouldn''t raise taxes on small businesses if he was elected the next president of the United States.

"I will keep small business taxes where they are, help them keep their costs low and let them spend their earnings to create more jobs, not send to Washington," the Washington Times quoted McCain, as saying in Toledo.

Washington, Oct. 20 : Both Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his republican rival John McCain are reportedly banking on every early vote they can secure in key battleground states to win their respective bids for the White House a fortnight from now.

According to Fox News, McCain is, however, more selectively working to lock in the early votes of his most iffy supporters, figuring the rest will make it to the polls sooner or later.

New York, Oct. 18 : Data on polling trends suggest that the 2008 US presidential elections will be a tight race, and continue to be open to interpretation.

According to Fox News, one group of voters in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll put John McCain within two points of rival Barack Obama, while an AP-Yahoo poll out Friday shows McCain''s negatives on the rise.

Washington, Oct 18 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign has complained that Republicans are conspiring to spread dubious allegations about voter fraud problems.

Obama’s campaign is accusing Republicans of enlisting law enforcement officials in a “frenzied and pathetic” attempt to turn the allegations of voter fraud surrounding a low-income advocacy group into a political football, FOX News reported.

Washington, Oct. 17 : The Washington Post has taken the lead among American dailies in declaring Senator Barack Obama as the man most likely to be the 44th President of the United States.

The paper says that the choice has been made easy in part by Republican presidential candidate John McCain''s disappointing campaign, and above all, his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president.