During an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson Wednesday night, Barack Obama accused John McCain of scoring "cheap political points" with the personal attacks he had leveled at him in recent days. Speaking of the previous night's presidential debate, Obama said he was surprised McCain didn't attempt to repeat these attacks during their time on stage together:
Well, I am surprised that, you know, we've been seeing some pretty over-the-top attacks coming out of the McCain campaign over the last several days that he wasn't willing to say it to my face.
Watch the clip:
Update: Joe Biden echoes the line during an appearance on Thursday in Missouri:
"All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube ... John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him," Biden said this morning. "In my neighborhood, when you've got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."
Biden, who arrived on stage in St. Joseph to chants of "Joe! Joe! Joe," urged the crowd not to be distracted by McCain claims, saying that every "false charge, every baseless accusation is an attempt to get you to stop paying attention to what's going on in this country and what's going on in your lives." And on the issues that matter, he said, McCain is offbase, particularly on his newest mortgage plan.