August 2, 2008 Obama says McCain camp is not racist Play video

(NECN/ABC) - For most of this week, voters struggling with the weak economy were bombarded with negative political ads. Barack Obama went from being compared to celebrities, to TV messiahs.

"Barack Obama may be The One. But is he ready to lead?"

The McCain camp also accused Obama of injecting race into the presidential campaign when he said this:

"You know - he's got a funny name. and he doesn't look like all the presidents on the dollar bills."

The strategy behind McCain's attacks may be to paint Obama's agenda as out of touch with voter's needs. But negative campaigning, especially using race, could turn off voters.

"I think any comments where you are playing the race card are really wrong - - but also unfortunate and a mistake for both candidates."

Today Obama said McCain and his team aren't racist....

Obama "They're very good at negative campaigns. They're not so good at governing."

Obama: "We face serious issues in this election - and we have real differences. But I'm not going to spend time assaulting my opponent's character. I'm not going to talk about Paris or Britney I will, however, compare our two economic visions for the future."

Obama accepted 3 presidential debates and 1 vice presidential debate. But he has not accepted mccain's offer to hold weekly town hall meetings.