MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama pledge to halt eviction of defaulting homeowners

Candidate Barack Obama

Unite States Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama has vowed to halt eviction of homeowners defaulting on mortgages, two weeks before the election. He was speaking in Florida, ahead of a joint appearance with his former rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton.

Mr Obama also urged his supporters to cast their ballots in early voting which opened on Monday. Republican John McCain attacked his rival's economic policies, and vowed to take the country in a new direction. Campaigning in Missouri, another swing state, John McCain accused his Democratic rival of misleading the electorate by plotting to hike taxes. "After months of campaign trail eloquence... we finally learned what Senator Obama's economic goal is... he wants to 'spread the wealth' around," Mr McCain said. "If I'm elected president I won't raise taxes on small businesses, Senator Obama will and that will force them to cut jobs." Mr Obama accused the Republican camp of "ugly" campaigning but said he would not be "distracted" by it. He focused his address on the economy and those in Florida who have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis and financial slowdown. "We have tried it John McCain's way. We have tried it George Bush's way. It hasn't worked. It's time for something new," Mr Obama said. Obama also urged his supporters to vote early - something he has been pushing on a major scale, using speeches, e-mails and advertisements placed in popular video games. Thousands of Mr Obama's volunteers have been mobilised there, including "town criers" riding on public buses, offering lifts to college students, and neighbourhood teams to give voters a push. "There's too much at stake in this election to leave this responsibility to the last minute,'' said Steve Schale, Mr Obama's campaign director in Florida. Meanwhile Mr McCain's campaign has opted to focus its efforts more selectively on supporters who do not always vote in presidential elections. The party believes it can count on more reliable voters to get to the polls on 4 November, Rich Beeson, political director for the Republican National Committee, told the Associated Press news agency. About a third of US electors in 2008 are expected to cast their vote early. The process has grown in popularity in recent years, as people have become more familiar with it. Early voting provisions have been expanded and restrictions on absentee ballots eased. Registered voters can either cast their ballots in person or by mail, thus avoiding queues at polling stations on election day. (BBC)