COSTA MESA, Calif. - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin accused Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday of "palling around with terrorists," marking a shift to a nastier tone in the White House race. The remark was dismissed by Obama as "gutter politics" but appeared to reflect an effort by Sen. John McCain's campaign to target Obama's judgment as the Illinois senator More.. solidifies his national lead and gains an edge in vital battleground states a month before the November 4 election. It came shortly after McCain's campaign called Obama a liar and just days after both candidates urged Congress to set aside partisan politics to pass a $700 billion financial rescue package in a bid to revive credit markets. "There is a time when it's necessary to take the gloves off and that time is right now," Palin told thousands of supporters at a rally in a sports arena in Carson, California. Earlier at a fundraiser in Englewood, Colorado, she departed from her usual speech to question Obama's character. "Our opponent though is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough that he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin said of Obama, also calling him an embarrassment. Palin cited a New York Times story on Saturday that examined Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Vietnam War-era militant Weather Underground organization who is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Times concluded they were not close. Less..