Obama blasts GOP ticket over latest job loss report

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Obama blasts GOP ticket over latest job loss report

By RACHEL KIPP • The News Journal • October 4, 2008

The morning after Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate criticized his economic platform, Obama placed blame on the Bush administration for eradicating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last year.

"We just got a report that America has had its ninth straight month of job loss. Since January we've lost more than 750,000 jobs," Obama said during a speech at Abington High School, northeast of Philadelphia. "When Sen. McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know something about."

The Labor Department reported Friday that employers cut 159,000 jobs last month.
Palin made the comment while debating Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, during Thursday's vice presidential match-up in St. Louis, Mo.

With national attention centered on the House of Representatives passing the $700 billion bank bailout, Obama focused his remarks on economic growth.
"Where I come from, and I'm sure where you come from, no opportunity is more fundamental than the sense of purpose, the sense of recognition, of showing up for work in the morning," he said. "There is nothing more fundamental than a good-paying job."
The candidates had been in a virtual dead heat after McCain's numbers inched upward in the weeks following his choice of Palin as a running mate.

As the financial crisis took center stage in the public conscience, however, Obama began to build a slight lead. He was ahead of McCain by seven points in Friday's Gallup poll.
Obama said the revised bailout plan passed Friday by Congress is not the "blank check" for Wall Street "that the current administration initially asked for.
"This is a plan that will help us deal with the immediate crisis and help put the economy on firmer footing," Obama said.

Many of the men and women waiting in line to enter the stadium hoped Obama would weigh in on Thursday's vice presidential debate between running mate Biden and Alaska Gov. Palin.
"I want to know what he thought of the debate," Philadelphia resident Jene Martin said. "I thought Joe Biden did superb and I thought Sarah Palin did not answer questions."
Marin and Oreland, Pa., resident Anne St. Clair both acknowledged Palin was more articulate during the debate than they expected.
"She only talked about what they already coached her to talk about," said St. Clair, a former Wilmington resident.

Obama praised "the third senator from Pennsylvania" for a "great job" during the debate.
"I was so proud of Joe," Obama said. "I think you saw clearly why I thought he would be such a great vice president, especially in these difficult times."
McCain told supporters at a town hall meeting in Pueblo, Colo., that he thought Palin did well.
"You know, I almost felt a little sorry last night for my old friend Joe Biden. She did a magnificent job."

He drew cheers when he declared, "Viva la Barracuda!"
Two quick polls indicated Biden fared better in the debate. A CBS News/Knowledge Networks Poll found 46 percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate thought Biden won, with 21 percent siding with Palin. A CNN poll found respondents judging Biden the winner by a margin of 51 percent to 36 percent but calling Palin more likable by 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent.

Obama has stopped in the Philadelphia area at least a dozen times during the primary and since being selected the Democratic presidential candidate.
Both tickets are hoping a strong campaign presence in the state will lead to winning Pennsylvania's electoral votes. A win here or in swing states such as Ohio, Florida or Colorado could determine which candidate will move into the White House in January.