Obama accuses McCain of 'losing his bearings' with comment

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain tried to smear him and was "losing his bearings" for suggesting that Hamas preferred Obama for president.

"This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics.' And then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his," Obama told CNN in an interview Thursday.

The Illinois senator added: "For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name-calling in this debate."

McCain has raised questions about a Hamas adviser, Ahmed Yousef, saying in an interview: "We like Obama and hope that he will win the election." The United States has labeled the Palestinian organization a terrorist group.

"It's indicative of how some of our enemies view America," McCain said Wednesday on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." "And I guarantee you, they're not going to endorse me."

Mark Salter, a senior adviser to McCain, said Obama was trying to divert attention from a legitimate question by referring to McCain's age. The expected Republican presidential nominee turns 72 in August, and would be the oldest person sworn in as president if elected.

"He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not-particularly-clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue," Salter said. "It is more than fair to raise this quote about Senator Obama, because it speaks to the policy implications of his judgment."