PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — President Bush promoted his economic successes in this hard-luck coal mining region Sunday, saying his tax cuts have helped create 1.7 million new jobs in the last year and brought West Virginia's unemployment rate below the national average.
Spending his second Sunday in a row in this battleground state, Bush also accused Democratic opponent Sen. John F. Kerry of wanting to raise taxes on small businesses, which the president said were a large part of the top income tax bracket.
"This Labor Day weekend, it's important for America's workers to know that my opponent wants to tax your job," Bush said. "His plan to raise taxes on those at the top end of the income tax scale will raise taxes for the 900,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs who pay at the individual rate and who are creating most of the new jobs in our changing economy."
Kerry, who took a break from the campaign trail Sunday to celebrate his daughter Alexandra's 31st birthday in Pittsburgh, did not address Bush's charges. But his campaign struck back immediately, saying the president was misrepresenting the data and that most small-business owners did not fall into the top brackets. They also said Kerry plans new tax breaks for small businesses that create jobs or offer healthcare benefits to employees.
"George Bush's misleading definition of small business includes both himself and Dick Cheney, but they certainly haven't created any new jobs over the last four years," said Kerry spokesman Phil Singer. "If voters think that giving Dick Cheney a tax cut is the best way to create jobs, they should vote for George Bush. But if they want a plan that cuts taxes for small business that create jobs or offer health insurance, they should vote for John Kerry."
Meanwhile, as fellow Democrats fretted openly about the state of Kerry's campaign, the senator had a long telephone conversation with former President Clinton on Saturday night. The two discussed hammering out a campaign message based on Bush's record on jobs, healthcare and other issues, the New York Times reported on its website Sunday night.
Kerry shook up the internal dynamic of his organization Sunday, recruiting longtime friend John Sasso to accompany him on the road as a senior advisor. Sasso, who ran Michael S. Dukakis' 1988 presidential bid and had been working as the general election manager at the Democratic National Committee, will begin traveling with Kerry today.
