WASHINGTON — The economy shoved its way to the front of the presidential campaign once again, as the nation's jobless rate shot to a five-year high -- escalating fears that the country is spiraling into a full recession.
The unexpected jump in unemployment -- from 5.7% in July to 6.1% in August -- provided prime fodder for both presidential nominees as the fall campaign season kicked into high gear. But with a Republican now in the White House, analysts said the news would give Democrat Barack Obama an edge over Republican John McCain.
"No party holding the White House has ever won an election in the midst of a sour economy," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian at American University. "What matters is the direction of the economy and of unemployment . . . and in this case the direction is down."
The U.S. has now shed 605,000 jobs since the beginning of the year, the Labor Department said Friday.
"The unemployment numbers certainly shift the spotlight and elevate the economy issue," said Craig Smith, a former speechwriter and aide to presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush who now teaches at Cal State Long Beach. "These figures generally hurt the McCain campaign and help the Obama campaign."
Obama pressed that advantage during a forum with voters in Duryea, Pa., criticizing McCain for saying the "fundamentals" of the U.S. economy were sound.
"What's more fundamental than having a job, seeing your income keep pace with inflation and watching your child walk off the stage with a college diploma in their hand?" Obama asked. His GOP rival, he added, "doesn't get it."
For his part, McCain ended his Cedarburg, Wis., rally Friday morning by touting his plans for tax cuts as an answer to the troubling jobs report.
"These are tough times. Today the jobs report is another reminder these are tough times, tough times in Wisconsin, they're tough times in Ohio, tough times all over America," McCain said.
McCain charged that Obama would raise taxes and he would cut them. (Obama has said he would offer a tax cut to 95% of Americans by ending tax breaks to some corporations, including those that ship jobs overseas.)
"I'll keep taxes low and cut them where I can; my opponent will raise your taxes," McCain said. "I'll open new markets to our goods and services; my opponent will close them. I'll cut government spending; he wants to increase."
