Sen. Barack Obama's transition team recently held a large organizational meeting as part of an accelerated effort to plan for a possible new administration, Democratic officials said yesterday, as Obama embarked on a late-campaign tour of traditional Republican states with a fresh attack on his rival, Sen. John McCain.
Under the direction of John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, the transition effort includes several groups divided into different areas of responsibility, these officials said. One added that Cassandra Butts, a longtime associate of Obama, is in charge of the group dedicated to personnel for a new administration. The effort is largely separate from the campaign structure that helped plan and execute Obama's rise to front-runner in a race in which he is bidding to become the first black president.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss any post-election planning that might be under way.
The disclosures came as Obama accused McCain of wanting to cut $882 billion from Medicare over 10 years to finance his health-care plan. He said that the result would be more costly drugs, diminished services and lower-quality care for seniors.
"It's entirely consistent with Sen. McCain's record during his 26 years in Congress where, time and again, he's opposed Medicare," Obama said. "In fact, Sen. McCain has voted against protecting Medicare 40 times."
In response, McCain's campaign issued a statement saying that Obama was "simply lying." The statement said that McCain planned to trim spending, but his plans "do not cut a single benefit."
Ahead in the national polls, Obama made his charge as he campaigned in a traditionally Republican state where he has spent heavily to collect 13 electoral votes. He is spending far more on television advertising in Virginia than McCain and has 50 offices statewide. The trip was his seventh here since wrapping up the Democratic nomination in June.
Obama's remarks on Medicare amounted to a new front in the campaign's health-care wars, and were aimed at persuading older voters to abandon McCain.
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