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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (4523)	9/1/2003 2:23:10 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96138,00.html Bush Spends Labor Day Pushing Economic Plan Monday, September 01, 2003 WASHINGTON — President Bush vigorously defended his tax cuts against Democratic criticism Monday, telling a union audience that he had to move aggressively to help an economy "still bumping along." Calling American working men and women the strength of the country, Bush used his Labor Day outing in a key battleground state to pledge anew that he will work hard to create jobs. He promised better days ahead, saying "we want everybody working." "We're committed to helping those who've got a job to keep a job and for those who are looking, to find a job," Bush said to cheers. "That's the commitment this Labor Day." Bush's trip to Richfield, Ohio, on a damp, overcast holiday marked his third visit this year to the Buckeye State, which he narrowly won in 2000. He spoke to members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (search), which represents 400,000 construction and maintenance workers in the United States and Canada. Tucked between the Democratic strongholds of Akron and Cleveland, Richfield has leaned toward Republicans in past elections. The site of Bush's speech, the union's training facility, was well-prepped for his visit. A half dozen construction cranes provided the backdrop where Bush was to speak on a damp, overcast day. Bush defended his administration's handling of the economy at a time when the civilian jobless rate is at 6.2 percent and more than 9 million people are out of work. He said the nation had suffered a host of shocks to the economy, including the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the upheaval in corporate America amid a series of accounting scandals. Bush said he moved to protect the country against new terrorism and that he worked with Congress on legislation to force better accountability from corporate board chairman. "Yet, the economy was still bumping along," he said, "so we passed tax relief and we lowered taxes once again to create jobs. When you lower taxes, people have more money." "I'm interested in solving problems quickly," the president said. "I want more people working — but we did the right thing with tax relief." Bush also announced that he asked Commerce Secretary Don Evans (search) to create the position of assistant commerce secretary for manufacturing to give more attention to a sector of the economy that has been especially hard hit. Bush will nominate that person but there is no timetable for his selection, said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan. Labor Day traditionally marks the beginning of the campaign season, when voters start paying attention to elections. With 15 months before election day, polls show likely voters are far more concerned about the weak economy than Iraq or terrorism. The administration is mindful that a poor economy cost Bush's father a second term in 1992 and has vowed to show the country it is engaged in sparking a recovery. The economy still remains Bush's greatest vulnerability because recent improvements haven't yet trickled down to the jobs market. "Obviously, the economic recovery is not as strong as we would like, but the trend lines are positive," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said on CBS's "The Early Show." Of the jobless, Chao said on NBC's "Today" show that "we want to get out the word" that programs exist to retrain laid-off people for other fields of work, if necessary. Bush insists his tax cuts will provide the stimulus necessary to rev up the economy. But Democrats say the tax cuts passed by the GOP-led Congress have gone to the wealthiest taxpayers and have sent the deficit soaring to $480 billion for next year. "I hope his tour of the state will include the empty factories and bankrupt corporations," said Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, one of nine Democrats vying to challenge Bush. Ohio is one of the most unionized states in the country, with about 18 percent of the work force belonging to a union. Nationwide, just 13.2 percent of the work force is unionized. Organized labor is a key constituency of the Democratic Party, yet Bush still managed to beat Al Gore in this battleground state, 50 percent to 47 percent in 2000. Bush has tried to woo some trades and industrial unions, which tend to be more conservative than public and service sector unions. But he's had mixed success. One of his most high-profile targets, James P. Hoffa and the Teamsters (search), expressed distaste over some of Bush's policies, particularly proposals to tighten reporting of union finances and to revamp overtime pay rules. The Teamsters recently endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., for president. The Operating Engineers union is among the largest labor donors to Republicans, contributing 16 percent of its $1.3 million to the GOP in 2002.