U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie accused Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday of disparaging U.S. Sen. Barack Obama with her comments during a Mainland campaign swing that minimized Obama's local connection.

The Republican governor, appearing on behalf of U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, said at an event in Colorado this week that it was disingenuous for Obama to talk about Hawai'i as his home state to show his understanding of western issues.

She said Hawai'i is unique among western states and pointed out that McCain has represented Arizona for nearly three decades.

At a rally in Nevada, Lingle said she had never met Obama and that most Hawai'i residents had not heard of him until he ran for president. She noted humorously that he visited on vacation.

Obama was born in Hawai'i and graduated from Punahou School. His grandmother and sister live on O'ahu and Obama usually made visits during the Christmas holidays before he announced his presidential campaign.

Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said yesterday that Lingle's comments insult Obama's family. "This is a sad day. We don't talk about people this way in Hawai'i," the congressman said at a news conference at Democratic Party of Hawai'i headquarters.

Abercrombie, who knew Obama's Mainland mother and Kenyan father, said one of the Illinois senator's campaign themes is Hawai'i's message that "our diversity defines us rather than divides us.

"This has electrified the country. This has been the basis and foundation of his campaign for 24 months now."

Abercrombie, who has campaigned extensively for Obama on the Mainland, said Lingle should be promoting the Islands during her appearances for McCain. He said Lingle could disagree with Obama on public-policy issues without maligning his Hawai'i ties.

"She can't do that? I mean, she's the governor," he said. "She's supposed to be promoting Hawai'i, not knocking Hawai'i down."

Abercrombie also questioned Lingle's motives for leaving the state as her administration prepares for potentially deep spending cuts to reduce a projected budget deficit.

The congressman suggested Lingle was appealing to Republican donors who could help her in a future political campaign, most likely for the U.S. Senate. Lingle has not commented on her future plans other than to say she will finish out the remaining two years of her second term.

Lenny Klompus, Lingle's senior communications adviser, said Abercrombie was taking the governor's comments out of context.

"I think the congressman didn't read it, didn't hear it, and certainly didn't understand it, because she hasn't said anything that can be categorized as the congressman suggested at all," he said.

Klompus said Lingle was speaking about Obama's experience on western issues, not diminishing his Hawai'i birth or high-school graduation. He said the Obama campaign and several local Democrats have described Obama's visit to O'ahu in August as a vacation.

Obama's local roots were one of the factors that brought thousands of new Democrats to the party's caucuses in February and created excitement during his August homecoming.

But his local campaign has at times had to defend his local ties, under questioning from the news media, because Obama has not made Hawai'i a central theme of his life story during the campaign.

Obama has preferred to focus mostly on his political life in Chicago, although he has spoken often about his family, particularly his grandmother, and the value of diversity.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, who had endorsed U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, said before the caucuses that he and the people of Hawai'i knew very little about Obama and mentioned that Obama went to Punahou, an exclusive private school.

The senator later apologized for the Punahou remark and has since backed Obama, praising the way he has conducted himself during the campaign.

Abercrombie noted that Michelle Obama, Obama's wife, has said: "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawai'i."