Republicans are killing jobs in US: Obama

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The US presidential race spotlight returned to the top candidates Friday as Barack Obama and John McCain traded charges over whose policies were to blame for America's deepening economic woes.

One day after the vice presidential debate failed to reshape the presidential race, both White House hopefuls turned their attention Friday to the issue that has dominated the campaign and voter interest: a teetering economy and a government plan to rescue Wall Street after weeks of financial upheaval.

Despite Congress' passage of the unprecedented $700 billion financial bailout Friday, there was no indication that economic issues would take a back seat to other concerns. Wall Street ended an intensely volatile week with another sell-off, and the government reported the worst monthly job losses in over five years.

With that grim economic backdrop, Obama, the Democratic contender, is seeking to solidify his lead in national and battleground polls, while McCain looks for a game-changing development to close a gap that grew in part because he struggled to respond to the financial crisis.

Obama used Friday's ugly job news to argue that the policies of his Republican opponents “are killing jobs in America every single day.'' Republican John McCain retorted that Obama's tax and spending plans will not solve the problem.

The Illinois senator encouraged voters to change Republican leadership in the White House, continuing a theme of tying McCain to the unpopular President George W. Bush. He disputed vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Thursday debate claim that his economic plan would be a job killer.

“When Sen. McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know a thing or two about,'' Obama said. “Because the policies they've supported and are supporting are killing jobs in America every single day.''

His comments at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania came as the government reported employers cut 159,000 jobs last month, marking the ninth straight month of job losses.

Hours later at a town hall meeting in Pueblo, Colorado, McCain himself said Obama's plans would hurt the economy.

“He wants higher taxes, more government, higher spending, and frankly that record is not something which has been good for America and we won't let it happen,'' McCain said. The McCain campaign launched a new national TV ad Friday repeating his criticisms of Obama's tax plans.