POLITICAL BRIEFS

Palin rally moved

Due to an overwhelming demand for tickets, a rally scheduled for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Pensacola has been moved.

The campaign said the Alaska governor will speak Tuesday at the Pensacola Civic Center, a 10,000 seat arena. The rally had previously been scheduled at the smaller Pensacola Aviation Center.

Additional tickets were printed and will be distributed to area campaign offices.

Biden coming to Florida

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden is planning to hold rallies in Tampa and Lakeland during a two-day visit in Florida this week.

Campaign officials said Sunday that Biden will speak primarily about the economy during a rally Tuesday at the Lake Mirror Park amphitheater in Lakeland. Biden will hold a similar event Wednesday at the University of South Florida's Sun Dome in Tampa.

McCain's brother apologizes for 'communist' remark

Joe McCain, speaking at an event in support of his brother and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, called two Democratic-leaning areas in Northern Virginia "communist country," according to a report on The Washington Post's Web site.

"I've lived here for at least 10 years and before that about every third duty I was in either Arlington or Alexandria, up in communist country," Joe McCain, a Navy veteran, said at an event in Loudon County, Va.

Joe McCain then apologized,, according to the report.

Virginia has long been a Republican stronghold in presidential elections, but Democrat Barack Obama is running even or ahead of McCain in recent state polls. Obama is being helped by fast-growing communities in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Northern Virginia, which tend to vote more Democratic than other parts of the state.

"This was Joe McCain's unsuccessful attempt at humor," said McCain campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho.

Obama to face fundraising complaint

The Republican National Committee plans to file a fundraising complaint against Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign Monday, alleging it has accepted donations that exceed federal limits as well as illegal contributions from foreigners.

RNC officials acknowledged Sunday that they do not have a list of foreign donors to Obama's campaign. Instead, the complaint is based largely on media reports, including one from a conservative Web site.

The complaint asks the Federal Elections Commission to audit Obama's campaign fund, RNC chief counsel Sean Cairncross said in a conference call with reporters.

Cairncross said little is known about many of Obama's donors because the campaign is not required to disclose detailed information about people who give less than $200.

The Obama campaign, which is not accepting public funds, has raised more than $468 million. About half has come from small donors, a point of pride for the Obama campaign.

The Obama campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.