Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Democrat Barack Obama, in Florida to encourage early voting in that swing state, went after Republican rival John McCain for what Obama called ``misleading'' and ``outrageous'' campaign attacks.

``It's getting so bad that even Senator McCain's running mate denounced his tactics last night,'' Obama said at a rally in Tampa. ``And you know, you really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin's standards on negative campaigning.''

Asked yesterday about the campaign's use of prerecorded, automated telephone messages, Palin said that if she ``called the shots'' and ``could wave a magic wand,'' she'd prefer to campaign by ``sitting at a kitchen table with more and more Americans,'' according to an ABC News report. Palin, however, didn't reject the use of so-called robocalls. ``I'm not calling for an end to the robocalls,'' Palin said.

With 15 days before the election, Obama and McCain both stumped in battleground states. Obama rallied supporters in Florida on the first day voters there can cast early ballots. McCain was scheduled for three events in Missouri, which has backed the winner in 25 of the last 26 presidential elections.

McCain, in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, chided Obama as overconfident, saying the Democrat is already ``choosing his Cabinet.''

In his sixth trip to Florida since clinching the Democratic nomination in June, Obama criticized automated calls from the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee that attempt to raise questions about the Illinois senator and tie him to Vietnam-era radical William Ayers, now a University of Illinois professor.

`Say Anything'

``In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do- anything politics too often takes over,'' Obama said. ``We've seen it before and we are seeing it again -- ugly phone calls, misleading mail, misleading TV ads, careless, outrageous comments -- all aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change.''

McCain's camp, in turn, charged that Obama ``completely mischaracterized'' Palin's comments. ``With days to go, it's clear that Barack Obama will `say and do anything' to get elected, including intentionally misleading the American people about the type of campaign he's running,'' the Republican Arizona senator's campaign said in a statement.

Obama and McCain both sought to convince voters that they're best able to clean up the country's home-foreclosure mess.

Protecting Home Values

``I have a plan to protect the value of your home and get it rising again, by buying up those bad mortgages and refinancing them,'' McCain said in St. Charles. ``It was the housing crisis that became this cataclysm.'' Helping home values rise, he said, will let people stay in their homes ``and realize the American dream.''

McCain, 72, vowed to make sure the $700 billion rescue plan approved by Congress won't be used just for ``bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess.''

``I'm going to make sure we take care of the people who were devastated by the excesses and greed of Wall Street and Washington,'' he said.

Obama, 47, claimed today that McCain's plan would amount to a ``$300 billion bailout'' for Wall Street banks. ``And guess what? It would all be paid for by you, the American taxpayer.''

Stumping in Florida

Starting a two-day Florida swing, Obama urged supporters to vote now.

``Don't wait until Nov. 4 -- you don't know what might happen on Nov. 4,'' he said. ``Your car might break down. You might have an emergency. Your alarm might not go off.''

McCain has been to Florida twice since the Republican National Convention early last month.

Obama, the first major-party nominee to shun public funding for the general election, yesterday reported taking in $150 million in September, the most ever raised by a presidential candidate in one month and more than twice as much as his previous record of $66 million in August.

Obama also got an endorsement yesterday from retired General Colin Powell.

David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, joked to reporters today that, while he doesn't know if Powell has given money to the campaign, he's sure the endorsement is worth far more than any monetary contribution.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Tampa, Florida, at kchipman@bloomberg.netHans Nichols in St. Charles, Missouri, at hnichols2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 20, 2008 17:04 EDT