Democrat Barack Obama criticized Republican White House rival John McCain for a "say anything, do anything" political style on Monday as he opened a two-day tour to kick off early voting in Florida.
McCain told supporters in Missouri that "nothing is inevitable" and he could still beat Obama, who leads in national opinion polls as the pair began a two-week sprint to the November 4 presidential election, reported Reuters.
"In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over," Obama told about 8,000 supporters in Tampa, Florida. "We've seen it before and we're seeing it again today. The ugly phone calls. The misleading mail and TV ads. The careless, outrageous comments."
He noted McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, had told reporters on Sunday she questioned the value of automated calls being made by McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee to link Obama with 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
"As you know, you really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin's standards on negative campaigning," Obama told the crowd.
Obama plans to spend two days in Florida trying to build turnout among voters casting their ballots early in the crucial battleground state, which has 27 electoral votes and is vital for either candidate in their quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
More than half of all U.S. states allow voters to cast their ballots before November 4, and Florida's window for early voting began on Monday.
A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll on Monday showed Obama with a 6-point edge on McCain. A new CNN poll gave Obama a 5-point lead among likely voters, down from an 8-point edge two weeks ago. Other polls also showed a tightening race.