100,000 hear Obama speak in St. Louis

Associated Press

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, speaks to supporters gathered for a campaign rally at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday.

Last update: October 18, 2008 - 9:57 PM

BARACK OBAMA

The Democratic candidate drew his largest U.S. crowd to date on Saturday -- an estimated 100,000 people who came to hear him speak at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis -- as he campaigned in battleground Missouri just 17 days ahead of the election. And if that weren't enough, another 75,000 turned out to hear him Saturday evening in downtown Kansas City.

JOE BIDEN

The Democratic vice-presidential candidate in Atherton, Calif., cautioned supporters on Saturday not to be too confident. The longtime Delaware senator noted that Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry also were well ahead in the polls just weeks before Election Day in 2000 and 2004, but both lost their presidential contests to President Bush.

JOHN MCCAIN

The GOP standard-bearer campaigned in two hotly contested states -- North Carolina and Virginia -- where the crowds were smaller, but the rhetoric was heated. McCain used words like "welfare" and "socialism" to describe Obama's plans to raise taxes on businesses and Americans earning more than $250,000.

SARAH PALIN

The Republican vice-presidential nominee made a pitch in Pennsylvania for a ninth-inning comeback from a minor-league baseball field. She told the packed Lancaster Barnstormers stadium that she was counting on Philadelphia Phillies fans to turn "an underdog into a victor." Palin said, "It's the choice between a politician who puts his faith in government and a leader who puts his faith in you."

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