Obama says he'll cut taxes, end oil dependence

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-29 10:23

DENVER - Barack Obama promised a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush" Thursday night as he embarked on the final lap of his audacious bid to become the nation's first black president.

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama and Vice Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden applaud on stage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 27, 2008. [Agencies]

The 47-year-old Illinois senator vowed to cut taxes for nearly all working-class families, end the war in Iraq and break America's dependence on Mideast oil within a decade.

Obama belittled his Republican campaign rival, Sen. John McCain, by linking him to Bush.

"John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time," he said in excerpts released in advance of his prime time speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.

Polls indicate a close race between Obama and McCain, the Arizona senator who stands between him and a place in history.

McCain countered with a bold move of his own, hoping to steal some of the political spotlight by spreading word that he had settled on a vice presidential running mate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty canceled all scheduled appearances for the next two days, stoking speculation that he was the one.

Obama's campaign turned the Denver Broncos' Invesco Field into a costly sound stage for a final night extravaganza at the Democratic National Convention.

A crowd expected to reach 75,000 filed into football stadium in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains hours before the speech.

In the speech excerpts, Obama pledged to jettison Bush's economic policy - and replace it with his own designed to help hard-pressed families.

"I will cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class," he said.

The excerpts didn't mention it, but Obama has called for raising taxes on upper-income Americans to help pay for expanded health care and other domestic programs.

He did not say precisely what he meant by breaking the country's dependence on Mideast oil, only that Washington has been talking about doing it for 30 years "and John McCain has been there for 26 of them."

His pledge to end the war in Iraq responsibly was straight from his daily campaign speeches.

"I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons," he added.

As he does so often while campaigning, Obama also paid tribute to McCain's heroism - the 72-year-old Arizona senator was a prisoner of war in Vietnam - then assailed him.

"Sen. McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 percent of the time?

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