That advertisement and a Spanish-language ad and radio spot claim Obama voted to raise taxes on families earning just $42,000, a claim based on his vote for a nonbinding, Democratic budget resolution that allows all of President Bush's tax cuts to expire in 2011, something Obama has promised he would not let happen. [...]

"Like it would have crossed our minds to let up on the guy just because he's on vacation?" asked Charles R. Black Jr., one of McCain's top advisers, as McCain flew from Iowa to Arkansas yesterday.

Many Democrats are increasingly worried that trying to debunk the McCain attacks will not be enough, particularly with the candidate on vacation. The Republican National Committee mocked Obama with "Barack Obama's Hawaii Travel Guide," noting the elite prep school he attended on scholarship and highlighting a Chevron station selling gasoline for $4.78 a gallon. [...]

[A]n issue-based counterattack to McCain's character assault is not enough, worried Democrats say.

"It literally is the same old Democratic, consultant-driven politics," said Matt Stoller, a Democratic political consultant and blogger. "It's the same attempt not to tell a story about the country and the other guy, but to prove you're right, like an academic debating seminar."

Edwards ultimately admitted the affair Friday in an interview on "Nightline" with Bob Woodruff, who covered his 2004 presidential bid. The former senator maintained that he was not the father of Hunter's daughter.

David Perel, editor of the Enquirer, said he felt vindicated.

"It's good to see public acknowledgment that our story was accurate all along," he said.

Edwards' confession appeared timed for minimal exposure, coming on a Friday night when many TV viewers would be watching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

But the news immediately triggered a wave of anger and disappointment on Internet message boards, along with pointed condemnation of the news media.

"Probably the biggest question about this whole mess is why the mainstream media protected Edwards by ignoring the story for the past 8 months," read one typical comment on ABC News' website.

Several news executives contended that their organizations had been pursuing the story but had not yet confirmed enough details to run it.

In mid-July, Catholics polled by Zogby International favored Democratic Sen. Barack Obama by 11 percent. The latest poll now shows they favor Republican Sen. John McCain by a margin of 50 to 34 percent.

Zogby International said in a Tuesday press release that McCain leads Obama among all voters by 42 to 41 percent, as measured by a telephone poll of 1,011 likely voters. The poll, commissioned by Associated TV and conducted from July 31 to August 1, claims a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.