ORLANDO — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Saturday that his Republican opponent, John McCain, is running a cynical - but not racist - campaign.

“In no way do I think that John McCain’s campaign was being racist,” Obama said. “I think they’re cynical. I think they want to distract people from talking about the real issues.”

Obama tried to focus his two-day, five-city swing through Florida on economic issues - he called on Congress to issue immediately another round of tax rebates that he had suggested for next year - but the campaign repeatedly faced questions about accusations from McCain that the Illinois senator is “playing the race card.”

McCain’s campaign had said that Obama used race Wednesday when he said Republicans would try to scare voters by pointing out that Obama “doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”

Obama was more direct during a Jacksonville fund-raiser in June, when he told supporters, “They’re going to try to make you afraid of me (by saying), ‘He’s young and inexperienced, and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’”

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