ASHEVILLE, N.C. — One day after John McCain's running mate escalated the vitriol of the presidential campaign by invoking a 1960s radical, Barack Obama accused Republicans of trying to distract voters from the sagging economy with "smears."

Speaking to thousands of voters at Asheville High School yesterday afternoon, the Democratic nominee argued that McCain's record shows he shares President Bush's economic philosophy.

"Sen. McCain and his operatives are gambling that they can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," Obama said. "They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. That's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas and running out of time."

The dust-up comes as Obama's poll numbers have risen in recent weeks, even in some traditionally Republican states, as Wall Street's woes dominate the news. According to several polls, more voters see Obama as better able to handle the economy than McCain is.

Last week, senior McCain adviser Greg Strimple telegraphed the strategy, telling reporters the campaign would be aggressive during the final 30 days before the election. He said they would be "looking to turning the page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama's liberal, aggressively liberal, record and how he will be too risky for the Americans."

The new strategy was evident over the weekend when Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Obama would "pal around with terrorists."

Campaigning in California and Texas, the Alaska governor said she was referring to Obama's acquaintance with Bill Ayers, who helped found the Weather Underground in the 1960s. The group planned bombings targeting the Capitol and the Pentagon. Ayers acknowledged involvement in bombings but was not convicted of terrorist acts.

Obama, who was born in 1961, has deplored Ayers' conduct but pointed out that he was a child during Ayers' radical years. He and Ayers met decades later, when they were working on education issues in Chicago. Ayers, now an education professor, hosted a gathering for Obama in the mid-1990s.

Palin noted that The New York Times had written about the Ayers-Obama link. The article concluded, however, that the men were not close.

In North Carolina, Obama warned that his opponents wanted to change the subject.

"His campaign has announced that they plan to, and I quote, 'turn the page on the discussion about our economy and spend the final weeks of this campaign launching Swift-boat-style attacks' on me," he said, referring to a group known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In 2004, the group attacked Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's war record, to devastating effect.

"The American people are too smart for that," Obama said yesterday.

Obama arrived here Saturday to prepare for his debate with McCain in Nashville, Tenn., tomorrow night.

McCain spent yesterday preparing for the debate in Sedona, Ariz., near his family retreat.