Obama takes aim at McCain's maverick image

By Caren Bohan

ELKHART, Indiana (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama took aim at Republican John McCain's maverick image on Wednesday as the campaign trail took another negative turn.

McCain hit Obama with a television advertisement that belittled him as "the biggest celebrity in the world," one who would raise taxes on families in America.

"Raising taxes in a bad economy is about the worst thing you could do because it will kill even more jobs when what we need are policies that create jobs," McCain said at a kitchen cabinet plant in Jackson, Ohio.

Even celebrity Paris Hilton got a word in edgewise, issuing a video response to a McCain ad last week that likened Obama to celebrities like her and Britney Spears.

Hilton, lying in a pool chair wearing a designer swimsuit and heels, looks up from reading a magazine and upbraids McCain -- who she calls "white-haired dude" -- and says she supports an energy plan that is a hybrid of both McCain's and Obama's.

Obama, unable to break out of a close race with McCain in public opinion polls, went on the attack against the Arizona senator at a town hall meeting in the traditionally Republican state of Indiana.

A new poll by the Pew Research Center reported what it called "Obama fatigue" among many Americans, saying 48 percent of those polled said they have been hearing "too much" about him.

He appeared with a potential vice presidential running mate, Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who had supported Obama rival Hillary Clinton earlier this year.  Continued...