TERRE HAUTE, IND. - Barack Obama and John McCain brought the battle over who is better prepared to change Washington to a pair of states that will be critical to the November election.

At a Saturday afternoon rally at the county fairgrounds in Terra Haute, Obama proclaimed that McCain is captive to his party and unable to provide a clean break from Bush policies and mocked his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for flip-flopping on earmarks.

"Now think about this. This has come from the party that has been in charge for eight years," Obama told a crowd of about 800 in a 4-H arena. "They've been running the show. So don't be fooled. ... John McCain's party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge."

In accepting the Republican nomination on Thursday, McCain cast himself as an experienced and dedicated agent of change. He echoed that theme before thousands of flag-waving supporters in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday morning and urged voters to "send a team of mavericks" to Washington.

"Let me offer a little advance warning to the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd," McCain thundered, borrowing a line from his convention speech. "Change is coming! Change is coming!"

Palin, at the same event, took her first public shot at her rival for the vice presidency, describing Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as a relic of the Beltway establishment who will not push for reform.

Also Saturday, Obama and McCain issued a joint statement announcing that they would briefly cease partisan hostilities to visit ground zero in Manhattan on Thursday to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.