US:BARACK OBAMA has accused John McCain of joining President George Bush in "hypocrisy, fear-peddling, and fear-mongering" by suggesting that the Democrat stood for appeasement in the Middle East.
Mr Obama was speaking in South Dakota a day after Mr Bush compared Mr Obama's policy of talking to hostile leaders to the appeasement of Hitler before the second World War.
"That's exactly the kind of appalling attack that's divided our country and that alienates us from the world, and that's why we need change in Washington," Mr Obama said.
In a conference call with conservative bloggers this week, Mr McCain suggested that Mr Obama's willingness to talk to the leaders of Iran and North Korea made the Democrat incapable of keeping the US safe.
"All I can say is: if Senator Obama wants to sit down across the table from the leader of a country that calls Israel a stinking corpse, and comes to New York and says they're going to, quote, "wipe Israel off the map", what is it that he wants to talk about?
"What is it that he wants to talk about with him?" Mr McCain asked.
"I think [it] is an unacceptable position, and shows that Senator Obama does not have the knowledge, the experience, the background to make the kind of judgments that are necessary to preserve this nation's security."
Mr Obama hit back yesterday, accusing the Republican presumptive presidential nominee of hypocritically promising to conduct a dignified campaign free of personal attacks.
"He gave a speech in the morning where he talked about the need for civility in our politics. He talked about elevating the tone in our country," Mr Obama said.
"Not an hour later, he turned around and embraced George Bush's attacks on Democrats.
"He jumped on a call with a bunch of bloggers and said that I wasn't fit to protect this nation that I love."
Mr McCain found himself on the defensive yesterday when James Rubin, who is advising Hillary Clinton, quoted remarks that the Republican made about Hamas in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos two years ago.
"They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy toward Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice," Mr McCain was quoted as saying.
"But it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."
Mr McCain insisted yesterday that he had always insisted that there would be no negotiations with Hamas until the organisation renounced violence and recognised Israel, a position he claimed was in sharp contrast to Mr Obama's.
"He wants to sit down face to face with a government that is very clear about developing nuclear weapons," Mr McCain said.
"They are sponsors of terrorist organisations. That's a huge difference in my opinion. And I'll let the American people decide whether that's a significant difference or not.
"I believe it is."
Mr Obama, who opposes talks with Hamas, said that the group had only come to power because of the Bush administration's "naïve" call for Palestinian elections before establishing the necessary conditions for democracy.
"They're trying to fool you. They're trying to scare you. And they're not telling you the truth. And the reason is that they can't win a foreign policy debate on the merits," he said.