Barack Obama is criticizing John McCain's tactics in a new robocall.

In an automated call to North Carolina voters, a supporter of the Democratic presidential candidate accuses McCain of running a "dishonorable campaign."

The call, recorded by WUNC reporter Laura Leslie, features Lenny Julius, an Emerald Isle man who met with Obama backstage before his speech at the Democratic national convention in Denver.

"I used to support John McCain. In fact, I served with him in the Navy," he says. "But this year, he's running a dishonorable campaign. This election should be about policies and ideas, not about vicious personal attacks."

After the jump, the script.

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Last week, Pat McCrory argued that Beverly Perdue should return campaign donations raised by a Board of Transportation member who steered public money to road improvements near properties he or a son co-owned.

He ended the week by attending a fundraiser on Emerald Isle that pulled in more than $100,000 — half from Tommy Pollard, a former transportation board member from Jacksonville who did the same thing 20 years ago.

McCrory's campaign said they will not return the $50,000.

"It's a bogus story to compare someone who is -- as a volunteer citizen of the state of North Carolina with no power — out raising money, compared to someone who is sitting on the Board of Transportation and is using that position to raise money," Jack Hawke, McCrory's campaign strategist, said Wednesday.

He added, "What happened 25 years ago has nothing to do with what's happening today."

In 1989, the State Bureau of Investigation probed whether Pollard violated state law by pushing for the installation of 10 traffic lights at an intersection where he owned property. It found no violation, but the then attorney general said the law needed to be changed. (N&O)

As a first-term state senator, Beverly Perdue's bills focused on marine resources and the elderly.

During the state legislature's 1991-92 session, Perdue sponsored 23 successful bills, including three that created a Division of Human Resources grant to care for the elderly, allowed the division to charge fees for in-home services and funded a study commission on aging.

Other successes included sales tax refunds for regional solid waste management authorities and the repeal of a previous act to build a beach access facillity at Emerald Isle.

Perdue also sponsored several marine resources bills, including one that increased the fee for fisheries licenses. Related attempts to create a shellfish enhancement program and restrict leases for gathering shellfish were unsuccessful.

She also sponsored failed legislation that would change state election cycles so that statewide contests and presidential elections did not coincide.