The Florida visit of the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin came at a critical time for the McCain campaign as this is a state it cannot afford to lose. Last week, two surveys here showed a tie race, while five polls showed Obama ahead by three to eight points.

Palin’s visit, a part of a two-day tour, aimed at stalling Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s momentum in a pivotal state. The nation’s most famous hockey mom was all set to kneecap Obama in a jam-packed ice rink in the Republican stronghold of Southwest Florida.

The Alaska Governor stepped up her attacks by portraying Obama as a left-wing zealot, who got his start in politics with the help of a violent Vietnam War protester.
Referring to the claim of Obama campaign’s that he did not know of William Ayers’ radical activities when he was a state senate candidate in 1995, Palin said: “Wait a minute, he didn’t know that he had launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist?” 

The Obama campaign has assailed Palin for exaggerating the Obama-Ayers relationship, and has struck back by launching a Web site tying McCain to Charles Keating, a banker at the center of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

Meanwhile, at the arena, Palin also argued that McCain would set the economy straight, while Obama would raise taxes. Accusing Obama of trying to cut off funding to the troops in Iraq and demeaning the military mission in Afghanistan, she said: “It sure would be nice if just once he said he wants America to win.”

Clearly, Palin’s two-day tour of mostly friendly Florida turf suggests her mission is to drive the Republican faithful to the polls. Moreover, in between her public appearances, Palin is slated to attend private fundraisers in Naples, Boca Raton and Jacksonville expected to raise as much as $3 million. 

Commenting on the move, Al Cardenas, former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida said: “McCain’s challenge right now is to make up the ground that Obama has built up. If he can move the needed two or three points over the next couple weeks, which are crucial, it will come down to a battle over turnout.”