Obama speaks to 8,000 in Columbus: "John McCain says he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but all he's done is follow George Bush"

COLUMBUS Marvin T. Fete was moved to tears when he met Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today following a rally at Ohio State University.

Fete, a New Philadelphia attorney who was one of 10 people to win a phone-calling contest, presented Obama with a picture of his cousin Marine Pvt. Heath Douglas Warner, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.

"He put his arm around me and gave me a little bit of a hug," said Fete, a Republican. "He said he was sorry for our loss and appreciated the sacrifice our family made. He was very kind. He asked how Heath's mother was doing."

Fete was one of about 8,000 Obama supporters who came to OSU's St. John Arena to hear the Illinois senator fresh from Tuesday's night debate with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in Cleveland.

Sounding as if he was the Democratic Party nominee, Obama did not mention Clinton, but attacked presumptive Republican nominee and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

"John McCain says he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but all he's done is follow George Bush," he said.

Obama said McCain's policies are those of the past, while his are those of the future.