October 6, 2008 Candidates sharpen attacks ahead of second debate Play video

(Alison King, NECN) - The second presidential debate could be a feisty one. The McCain and Obama campaigns have gotten into what you could call a war of words.

Sarah palin may have been keeping a low profile as she prepped for her first debate last week -- but John McCain’s running mate is now front and center on the campaign trail, making the attention getting headlines - hoping to reverse the momentum - now strongly swinging toward Barack Obama.

Sarah Palin: One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers…

The Obama Campaign says the Ayers/Obama relationship has been greatly exaggerated to smear Obama -- that the two men are just casual acquaintances -- that Ayers was never a political advisor.

But that hasn't stopped McCain supporters from releasing TV and web ads that highlight Obama’s relationship, not only with Ayers, but also with Chicago real estate developer Tony Rezko convicted recently on several counts of fraud and bribery and Obama’s controversial former pastor, the reverend Jeremiah Wright

Shortly after the McCain camp launched into this latest line of attack, the Obama campaign pulled out a new attack of it's own. A 13-minute so-called "documentary" released on line, blasting McCain for his role in the Keating five scandal, the savings and loan debacle of the early 90s.

Senator McCain knew the facts because we had briefed him, he knew it was a criminal enterprise... He knew it was improper.

Dennis

Boston College political science professor Dennis Hale says despite the complaints, voters tend to pay attention to these attacks -- particularly if they zero in on a candidates character.

Dennis Hale: The first issue in any election is who is the candidate, what kind of man is he? The attacks themselves are often over the top and unfair. But it's perfectly good and perfectly sensible to wonder about the character of the people who want to govern us, particularly the President.