Created: 10/17/2008 4:28:50 PM 
Undated -- John McCain's mission is clear, he needs to win in three key battleground states. The Republican nominee will criss-cross Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia over the next two days. Polls show, Barack Obama is closing the gap, or in some cases, pulling into the lead. McCain's attacks on Obama, and the recent economic downturn, appear to be working against him. New surveys show, a growing number of voters are seeing the Republican in a negative light. But Obama's attacking too. He says McCain will scale back key programs to pay for his healthcare plan. The Democratic nominee will also hit the battleground states hard over the weekend. Obama's hoping to shore up growing support from the working class. There are 18 days until the election and Obama's campaign will be focusing on states that traditionally vote Republican. That's forcing McCain to spend time and money playing defense in states he had counted on winning.
CBS Newspath
