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ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday told an influential black group that Demo-cratic rival Barack Obama opposes private school vouchers and is beholden to the teachers union, both at the expense of underprivileged students.

McCain said Obama sent his own children to private school while holding back efforts to give more choices to low-income families. The Arizona Republican acknowledged he and his wife sent their children to private school, too, saying, "Everybody should have the same choice Cindy and I and Senator Obama did."

Although McCain touts the idea of school choice, he is not proposing a federal private-school voucher plan as have President Bush and other voucher advocates.

McCain does propose to expand a voucher program in the District of Columbia, his advisers saying he no longer seeks a nationwide voucher program because the No Child Left Behind law has helped to give parents and students more choices.

In listing a variety of changes in education policies he contended would improve a flawed system — from school choice to more local control and direct public support to parents for tutoring — McCain said Obama came up short.

"My opponent talks a great deal about hope and change, and education is as good a test as any of his seriousness," he said. "If Senator Obama continues to defer to the teachers unions instead of committing to real reform, then he should start looking for new slogans."

McCain's criticism of Obama, the first serious mixed-race candidate for president, to the National Urban League echoed the Republican theme that the Democrat's words don't necessarily match his actions or his thin résumé.

"If there's one thing he always delivers, it's a great speech," McCain said. "But I hope you'll listen carefully, because his ideas are not always as impressive as his rhetoric."

Though McCain received a respectful welcome from the audience and at times applause, he drew gasps and grumbles during a feisty question-and-answer session.

Asked what he would do about crime if elected president, McCain praised former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was widely scorned by many civil rights leaders for permitting the city's Police Department to use overly aggressive tactics against black criminal suspects.

Giuliani, McCain told the group, transformed New York from "a city really none of us were comfortable walking in the streets to one that was basically safe."

Still, McCain made several comments that pleased the audience. Among other things, he vowed to step up Justice Department investigations of civil rights violations if elected, and said he would appoint U.S attorneys based on qualifications, not politics.

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