Obama slams McCain before huge Colorado crowd

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

DENVER (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama sharpened his criticism of rival John McCain on Sunday, warning a record crowd of more than 100,000 supporters that a McCain White House would mean four more years of failed Republican policies and broken politics.

The Illinois senator, concluding a two-day swing through the Western battlegrounds of Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, renewed his favourite theme -- that McCain represents four more years of the policies of Republican President George W. Bush.

"We're not going to let George Bush pass the torch to John McCain," Obama told the biggest crowd in his record-setting campaign.

The thunderous crowd, which exceeded the 100,000 who saw Obama at a recent rally in St. Louis, jammed a downtown Denver park and filled the steps of the Colorado state capital building.

"Just this morning, Senator McCain said that he and President Bush 'share a common philosophy,'" Obama told the crowd. "I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk."

Obama repeated the criticism at a later rally in Ft. Collins, where about 50,000 supporters filled a campus yard at Colorado State University.

Obama said "the Bush-McCain philosophy" benefited the rich and promised the wealth would trickle down to everyone else. He noted Bush had voted for McCain last week.

"Well, Colorado, George Bush isn't the only one who gets to vote early -- you can vote early too. And you can finally put an end to the Bush-McCain philosophy," Obama said.