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WASHINGTON — Democrat Barack Obama went before the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday and challenged Republican opponent John McCain to stop questioning his "character and patriotism."

Obama retook the offensive as he prepares to announce his running mate in the next few days and push his campaign into a higher gear at his party's national convention that starts Monday.

The Democrat was responding to McCain's comments before the same audience a day earlier. The Republican told the group Obama "tried to legislate failure" in the Iraq war and had put his ambition to be president above the interests of the United States.

Polls show the contest between the men has grown consistently closer in August, as McCain appears to be finding traction with assertions that Obama, a first-term senator with a short history in national politics, is untested and not ready for the White House. McCain has served more than 20 years in the Senate.

McCain — a former Navy fighter pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam — has asserted repeatedly that Obama's opposition to the Iraq war showed he would rather lose the war than forfeit the contest for the presidency.

Obama took him to task on Tuesday, saying: "one of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I have never suggested that Senator McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same.

Let me be clear: I will let no one question my love of this country. I love America, so do you, and so does John McCain. ... you all served together, and fought together, and bled together under the same proud flag."

McCain's revival of the candidates' conflict over the Iraq war appeared clearly designed to shift the debate away from the struggling American economy, which polls show is the top concern of voters. McCain is viewed as less likely to shepherd the country out of its financial crisis.

On Monday, McCain told the same audience: "With less than three months to go before the election, a lot of people are still trying to square Sen. Obama's varying positions on the surge in Iraq. First, he opposed the surge and confidently predicted that it would fail. Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge.

"Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure."

Obama has acknowledged that the introduction of 30,000 addition U.S. troops into Iraq last year reduced violence but says it has failed in its political goal of facilitating a reconciliation among contentious Iraqi factions. The Illinois Democrat vows to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office; McCain opposes any timetable for withdrawal.

Iraqi leaders have been pressing the U.S. for a timetable for withdrawal.

"It is hard to understand how Sen. McCain can at once proclaim his support for the sovereign government of Iraq, and then stubbornly defy their expressed support for a timeline to remove our combat brigades from their country," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

McCain said victory in Iraq is in sight, but much depends on the next president's judgment. "The lasting advantage of a peaceful and democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East could still be squandered by hasty withdrawal and arbitrary timelines," he said.

Obama, meanwhile, is to announce his vice presidential candidate in the next few days.

The Democratic National Convention, at which Obama is to officially accept his party's nomination, begins Monday in Denver, Colorado. The vice presidential candidate will speak on the third night of the convention, which spans four days.

Obama was keeping most aides in the dark and giving away nothing to voters as he campaigns. Nevertheless, the Illinois senator has staffers in place to aid his prospective running mate, including more than a dozen seasoned operatives who have set up shop in a section of the campaign's Chicago headquarters.

He was believed to have narrowed his list to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. While it seemed increasingly unlikely that he would choose his vanquished rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, some Democrats speculated Monday that he could pull a surprise and pick her.

Obama planned to campaign in Florida on Tuesday, and on Wednesday ride a bus through North Carolina and Virginia, where he was appearing with former Gov. Mark Warner, who is campaigning for the Senate. After that, Obama's schedule is wide open, leaving the end of the week as a more likely time to make the announcement before the Democratic National Convention begins next Monday in Denver.

Campaign manager David Plouffe e-mailed supporters last week telling them they would receive first word of Obama's decision through a mass text message, but otherwise the team has revealed little about what to expect.

For his part, McCain is seriously considering naming his running mate between the end of the Democratic convention Aug. 28 and the Sept. 1 start of the Republican convention in hopes of stunting any uptick in polls for Obama. McCain has at least three large rallies planned in top battleground states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan — before the Republican gathering in St. Paul, Minnesota.

His top contenders are said to include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Less traditional choices include former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who could help in the battleground industrial state, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential pick in 2000 who now is an independent. But both would face heavy opposition from the Republican base because of their support for abortion rights.