McCain blasts detainee ruling In N.J., he ripped Obama's praise for court. They also sparred on Social Security.

Larry Eichel

Jun. 14, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain yesterday denounced the U.S. Supreme Court decision granting broader legal rights to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay as "one of the worst . . . in history" and blasted Democrat Barack Obama for endorsing it.

Speaking with reporters after a town-hall meeting at Burlington County College in Pemberton, McCain predicted that the court's ruling would damage the nation's ability to wage the war on terrorism.

"Sen. Obama applauds this decision, and he supports it," McCain said. "I argue against it and will do what I can to at least narrow down some of the wide-open aspects of the Supreme Court decision."

The two candidates also sparred over Social Security taxes and how often they would appear together. McCain also pledged to make a serious effort in New Jersey, even though it has been a Democratic state in recent elections.

In addition, the presumptive GOP nominee said that the difference between his outlook and that of his Democratic counterpart underlined the differences in the kinds of Supreme Court justices each man would appoint if elected president.

It's likely that one or more seats on the court will turn over in the next four years.

On Thursday, Obama hailed the ruling, which was issued that day and gave the detainees the right to challenge their detention in federal court, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens. He called it "an important step toward reestablishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law."

During the town-hall meeting and a subsequent news conference in Pemberton, McCain also discussed the impasse that has developed between the two presidential campaigns over his proposal for the candidates to stage 10 joint town-hall meetings -- one per week until the Democratic convention.

This week, the Obama campaign had responded with a proposal of its own, calling for one town-hall meeting on the economy in July and a foreign-policy debate in August, in addition to the three already-scheduled debates in September and October.

McCain rejected Obama's offer, calling it "very disappointing." Said McCain: "I'll let the American people decide which they think is the preferable proposal. . . . I believe strongly that the American people will support my position."

David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, said he was disappointed at the McCain campaign's rejection of the Obama plan, which Plouffe said would provide the most face-to-face contact between major-party candidates in the modern era.

"Apparently they would rather contrive a political issue than foster a genuine discussion about the future of our country," he said.

The two candidates also became embroiled yesterday in a dispute over their plans for Social Security.

Campaigning in Ohio before his arrival in Philadelphia, Obama said he would expand the reach of the payroll tax as a way to put the system on a more sound financial (OTCBB:SNFL) footing moving forward.

The tax, 6.2 percent paid both by employee and employer, currently applies to only the first $102,000 of wages an individual earns. Under the Obama plan, it would apply also to all wages above $250,000.

Obama said he would exempt people in between "so that the change doesn't burden middle-class Americans."

In the past, the Democrat has talked about expanding the payroll tax but has been vague on exactly who would pay it. With that in mind, McCain characterized the position Obama announced yesterday as "a complete reversal" of his previous stance.

In his speech on Social Security, the Democratic candidate said that McCain favors private accounts "along the lines that President Bush proposed."

In Pemberton, McCain replied: "I . . . will not privatize Social Security. It is a government program." He said he would "like for younger workers, younger workers only, to have an opportunity to take a few of their tax dollars, a few of theirs, and maybe put it into an account with their name on it. That's their money."

Bush also proposed that the accounts be voluntary.

From a purely political standpoint, McCain's appearance in New Jersey at this stage of the campaign season was somewhat surprising.

In most analyses of the geography of the November election, New Jersey, which has 15 electoral votes, is not listed as a battleground state.

After all, the Democrats have carried it in the last four elections, sometimes by double-digit margins. The state has a Democratic governor, two Democratic senators, and Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

And campaigning in New Jersey requires a heavy investment in TV commercials in the New York City media market, the nation's most expensive, which often scares off Republican presidential candidates.

But in 2004, President Bush lost New Jersey by only 7 percentage points, down from 16 points four years earlier. Recent polls show Obama, whom Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated handily in the New Jersey primary, with leads in the mid- to high single-digit range.

"We intend to compete in the great state of New Jersey," McCain told reporters traveling with him on his campaign bus. "I won't say I'll win it. I'm saying it's winnable."

McCain was joined at Burlington County College by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I., Conn.).

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Contact senior writer Larry Eichel at 215-854-2415 or leichel@phillynews.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0160-25983714