"we don't throw the first punch but we'll throw the last"

"Mr. McCain's record, despite him calling himself a maverick, actually shows that he is continually somebody who relies on lobbyists for big oil and big corporations and that he makes decisions often times based on what these lobbyists tell him to do," Obama said. "And that, I think, is going to be a lot more relevant to the American people than what somebody who is tangentially related to me did when I was eight years old."

The Illinois senator also insisted that he will not let attacks go unanswered. "One of the things that we've done through this campaign, we don't throw the first punch but we'll throw the last... If the American people don't get the information that's relevant about these candidates and instead in the last four weeks, all they are hearing about are smears and swiftboat tactics, that can have an impact on the election," Obama said. "We've seen it before."