The New Nation - Internet Edition

BBC Online

Former Vice-President Al Gore is preparing to campaign for Barack Obama in Florida, a state Gore lost very narrowly in his 2000 presidential bid.

Obama’s Republican rival John McCain is heading to the key state of Ohio.

On Wednesday evening, Obama aired a half-hour, prime-time advert on seven US TV channels, before holding a rally with former president Bill Clinton.

Polls suggest Obama is still ahead of McCain in most swing states, and holds a solid lead in national polls.

Gore is scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife, Tipper.

He lost the state of Florida in 2000 by just 537 votes, triggering a recount, which was controversially halted by the US Supreme Court.

Had he won the state, he would have won the presidential election.

Obama’s half-hour TV spot was shown on CBS, Fox and NBC, at a cost of about $1m (£630,000) per network, as well as on Spanish language channel Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One.

The advertisement featured interviews with Americans talking about difficulties in their lives, as well as clips of various political and business figures saying why they supported Obama.

It showed footage of Obama on the campaign trail, outlining his policies and talking about his background.

There was no mention of McCain or the Republican Party.

“I will not be a perfect president,” said Obama. “But I can promise you this - I will always tell you what I think and where I stand.”

The broadcast ended with Obama speaking live from a rally in Florida, where he urged his supporters to continue to campaign on his behalf in the final days before the election.

The BBC’s Justin Webb in Washington says that while it is not unheard of for American politicians to buy large chunks of television time - millionaire Ross Perot did it in 1992 - Obama’s move is unprecedented in its scope.

Only one of the major TV networks, ABC, did not run the film - which has been weeks in the making - and Fox News decided not to broadcast its pre-game show ahead of the fifth game of the baseball World Series in order to accommodate it.

Later on Wednesday, Obama appeared at his first joint rally with former US President Bill Clinton.

The question is whether this is a man who has what it takes to protect America

John McCain

Clinton, whose wife Hillary was defeated in the race for the Democratic candidacy, praised Obama, saying he had the ability to make decisions and bring about change.

He told supporters at the Florida rally they should not be complacent but try to persuade their friends and neighbours to vote for Obama.

“We have so much promise and so much peril. This man should be our president,” said Clinton.

In a speech to supporters in Tampa, McCain had questioned his rival’s security credentials, saying: “The question is whether this is a man who has what it takes to protect America from Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the other great threats in the world.”

“He has given no reason to answer in the affirmative”.

McCain’s assault on his opponent’s defence and security policies came after a meeting with a number of senior former military officials.

McCain had also criticised his rival’s tax policies, while at a campaign event in Miami.

“This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me,” he said.

“He thinks taxes are too low, and I think that spending is too high.”

Obama, at an event in North Carolina, poured scorn on McCain’s recent accusations that he is a “socialist”.

“By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in Kindergarten,” he told supporters.

Recent polls from CNN/Opinion Research suggest that Obama leads McCain by four points in Ohio, by six points in North Carolina and by seven points in Nevada, all states won by George W Bush in 2004.

The latest Rasmussen poll has Obama leading McCain nationally by 51% to 46%.