Republican John McCain said he won't try to "separate" himself from a weakened President Bush or his unpopular handling of the war in Iraq to try to win the general election against Barack Obama, who has made opposition to the war a focus of the Democratic campaign.

During an interview Thursday with USA TODAY, McCain also made it clear that he would emphasize his steadiness and experience — particularly on national security issues — to counter the vibrancy and oratory skills that have made Obama a sensation on the campaign trail.

McCain said he believes the biggest difference between him and Obama is how they view the role of the federal government. He contends that Obama wants the government to "make decisions that I think individuals, businesses and families should make."

Obama frequently has criticized McCain as running for Bush's third term — a slap at ties between the two Republicans, especially on Iraq. McCain voted in 2002 to give Bush the authority to use military force against Saddam Hussein's regime, while Obama — who was in the Illinois Legislature at the time — emphasizes that he was against the war from the beginning.

McCain is also a vocal supporter of Bush's "surge" strategy to temporarily boost U.S. troop levels in Iraq as a way to quell sectarian violence. McCain says Obama lacks firsthand knowledge of conditions in Iraq because the Illinois senator has not been there since 2006.