Kerry Hits Bush Economic Record, NASCAR 'Photo Op'
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By Patricia Wilson
WAUSAU, Wis. (Reuters) - White House hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites), firmly in command of the Democratic race and a runaway favorite in Wisconsin, set his sights on Monday on George W. Bush's economic record in a state that has lost 75,000 jobs since the president took office.
The Massachusetts senator ridiculed Bush's visit to kick off the Daytona 500 stock car race in Florida on Sunday as a three-hour photo opportunity during which America shed 350 manufacturing jobs, raised the record federal deficit by $178 million and added 700 people to the rolls of those without health insurance.
"We don't need a president who just says 'gentlemen, start your engines.' We need a president who says 'America, let's start the economy and put people back to work,"' Kerry said.
"This is not a time for photo opportunities, it is a time to create real opportunities in America," he told a town hall meeting at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wisconsin, after touring a laboratory where he watched a computer-control machine tool etch the words "Wisconsin Backs Kerry in 2004" into a 40-pound aluminum slab.
"This is heavy, man," the senator said. "But I appreciate it very much. Make it come true on Tuesday."
Kerry looked set to swamp his rivals in Wisconsin, according to a Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby poll released on Monday.
Riding a wave of momentum that has carried him to 14 wins in the first 16 Democratic contests, Kerry led former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (news - web sites) 47 percent to 23 percent. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) was third with 20 percent.
But Kerry was taking nothing for granted, campaigning across Wisconsin on the eve of the primary with his colleague, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, and on Tuesday with former rival, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt who dropped out of the race after a fourth place finish in Iowa and endorsed Kerry.
Kerry, who has scooped up endorsements since his winning streak began last month, will receive the backing of the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, campaign aides said. The umbrella organization of 64 labor unions represents more than 13 million Americans.
GOING AFTER EVERY VOTE
"There's only one way to make certain of an outcome of an election," Kerry told supporters at a bar in Milwaukee on Sunday night. "It's get your voters out there, turn out the vote and do the work.
"I'm not counting on anything. I'm going after every vote I can."
Saying the country was tired of "the politics of attack, the politics of splitting up America, the politics of the lowest common denominator," Kerry offered an economic plan he said would restore the 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Wisconsin in the past three years and rebuild the U.S. economy.
Under Bush, he said, deficits were going up $1 billion a day, two jobs were lost every minute and the president's "top priority" was to give the richest Americans another tax cut.
Kerry said he would put jobs back at the top of the national agenda. He has proposed repealing Bush's tax breaks for those in the upper brackets and using the money to strengthen the manufacturing sector and make health care affordable.
Bush said on Monday that, contrary to polls and his Democratic challengers, there was an "undeniable" sense of economic optimism sweeping the country.
"The facts bear me out," he said in Tampa, Florida. "The last six months of growth have been tremendous. Housing starts are way up. Inflation is low. Interest is low. New jobs are being created ... Things are looking better for America."
Almost 2.8 million factory jobs have been lost nationwide since Bush took office and the issue looms large ahead of the Nov. 2 presidential election. |
