Obama just had a "press availability" in Florida.
He started with some prepared remarks on the economy (reiterating his "emergency relief plan") and the Gang of Ten energy bill (in a nutshell: we have to be more efficient in our energy usage; he won't vote for anything that suggests "drilling is the answer" to our energy problems, but in the interest of governing, which involves compromise, might consider a bill which includes drilling if the overall package meets his "clear goal" that we need to be moving toward).
Then came the questions. As you might imagine, most of them were about what's going on between the two campaigns right now. Details after the jump.
This is my rough transcription of what Obama said. I type fast, but not as fast as he talks, so it's mostly paraphrased.
[******UPDATE: Here's a link to The Swamp article with more accurate versions of some of the quotes. Thanks, dansac.]
[UPDATE II: Partial Video Clip - Thanks to NCDem Amy]
(in response to question about the effect of the ads) The one thing we know about the McCain campaign, because he's brought in a lot of the same people who worked on the Bush campaign and some other Republican campaigns, is that they're very good at negative compaigns, they're not so good at governing.
We don't take the skill of Republicans at engaging in negative tactics lightly.
(In response to question about perception of Obama arrogance/presumptuousness): I don't know that there's that perception; that's being fed to the media. I would ask what that's based on. If I were arrogant, I wouldn't be working so hard this week. I'm beat. Obviously we are in a tight race.
(In response to challenge about "and did I mention I'm black?"): I don't think its accurate to say that my comments have nothing to do w/race. . . . Look, most of the people here were at that event. almost none of you thought I was making an incendiary remark or playing the race card. Not until McCain's campaign said it and it was on the front page 2 days in a row.
I don't come from central casting. I'm young, I haven't been on the national stage long, my name is Barack Obama, I'm African-American, I lived in Indonesia. I'm unfamiliar. The strategy of the McCain campaign has been to say he's risky, to divert attention from the fact that they don't have solutions to the problems we're facing. I don't think that's disputable, it's not something your publications haven't all commented on.
I don't think McCain's campaign was being racist; it's being cynical. They want to distract people from the issues.
They're planting doubts. We have to be clear to the American people about my policies, about how I'm going to be fighting for them. I'm confident that the people in Union, MO or Jacksonville, Fl or anyuwhere else in the country are going to be making their decision on what's best for their lives and for their families.
(In response to question whether Obama was saying McCain campaign is deliberately using race): No, I'm saying since I don't have a conventional biography and don't come out of Central Casting, they are painting me as risky. My youth, the fact that I haven't been on the national stage very long, they're going to play those factors up.
(In response to question how is your negative campaigning different from McCain's?) [laughing]: This is the classic dilemma of politics. They get 4 or 5 shots in row: he didn't visit the troops, he's a celebrity, etc. I say those are silly arguments, and the press says isn't that being negative? No, I'm just stating what their strategy has been. When you have factcheck.org saying 8 of their past 9 ads have been inaccurate, that's just stating what's going on.
The important point is that we need to stay focused on policies. but this is what happens. You're doing the same thing yourselves, just listen to the questions. This is what was done 4 years ago and 8 years ago.