McCain, Obama: Closing arguments

Barack Obama has his closing argument down to a few "finely honed" points, said Lynn Sweet in the Chicago Sun-Times. His main attack on John McCain is that a win for his Republican rival would amount to a third term for President Bush. And he's firing back at the McCain-Palin charge that he's a socialist looking to redistribute wealth by telling everyone at his rallies who makes less than $250,000 that he would lower their taxes.

Obama was a lot more forthcoming about his fondness for tax hikes before the financial meltdown, said Power Line's John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson in The Christian Science Monitor. McCain hasn't wavered—"he advocates lower taxes on earned income and shared prosperity through economic growth rather than the redistribution of wealth." And, unlike the rookie Obama, McCain is an experienced leader foreign rogues won't be tempted to test.

In their closing remarks, said John Dickerson in Slate, the presidential candidates certainly offer "different versions of leadership." McCain speaks of himself as a solitary fighter, while Obama presents himself as a candidate carried by a movement. "No matter who wins, Americans will be relying on the president's judgment. In that sense, both candidates are making the same point: Trust me."

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