Campaign Trail

Replumbing taxes

• Matthew Price
• 14 Oct 08, 11:54 PM GMT

The leaves are just starting to turn in Pennsylvania.

John McCain believes (hopes?) his fortunes are too.

It wasn't entirely coincidental that his campaign seemed to nose dive along with the stock markets.

Might he then expect a little rebound, just as the Dow shot up again on Monday? OK, it did drop again on Tuesday, but surely his team will be hoping for less bad news on the economic front in the coming 21 days left before the election.

We drove through the orange and gold of the autumn leaves into Blue Bell, Pennsylvania at around 9.30am, went through the very polite secret service checks, and into what normally is a basketball hall.

Two hours later, to the sound of the Rocky theme tune, the self-styled fighter McCain strode out, a couple of thousand cheering him on.

It was as promised a speech about the economy. His plans to tackle it.

It felt like a re-launch of his campaign to be honest. An attempt to shift the focus back onto him, to show that he is the best man for the job.

He is also attempting to spread the fear about Barack Obama - not, for now, about his background - but about his politics. Here's an excerpt:

"This weekend, a plumber concerned that Senator Obama was going to raise his taxes asked him directly about his plan. The response was telling. Senator Obama explained to him that he was going to raise his taxes to 'spread the wealth around'."

Now this does work with many here who do not see the role of government as "spreading the wealth". People work hard for their money, and many believe they shouldn't have to give it away to support others. I know everyone dislikes paying taxes, but in the US I think more people feel a lot more strongly about it than in Europe for instance.

One woman, a young mother named Roberta Kolonis who I spoke to during the rally told me "Obama scares me, there's a lot we don't know about him." His policies, and his associates she added.

Is a McCain tack towards the economy too late to save his chances?

The latest poll - and yes, it's a national one, so may not be too meaningful, but it does give a huge lead to Obama - suggests it may be. But constantly those I speak to on the campaign trail tell me to ignore the polls.

Personally the feeling I get from the McCain rallies right now is that the energy is gone, and the belief. At the time when he most needs to be fighting as hard as possible. This is a crucial week.

His best chance probably lies in doing what he did today - talking to the people on issues about which they care and on which they connect.

After the rally we tracked down a great Italian style deli and restaurant. I won't print its name, since as we sat and munched on our huge Hoagies packed with salami and cheese imported from Italy, the owner told us she didn't often tell her customers that she wants Obama to win.

"There aren't many around here who'll vote for him though. My customers say he's intelligent, but they don't like that. And they say he doesn't have the experience."

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