Obama slams McCain's stance

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Sen. Barack Obama yesterday said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain planned to "sit idly by" while the economy foundered.

"It's time to end the Bush-Cheney-McCain policy that tells the American people, 'You're on your own,' because we're all in this together," Mr. Obama said at a rally in Malvern, Pa., where he campaigned for the state's Democratic primary April 22.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds called Mr. Obama's attack "heated rhetoric."

"The question facing Americans on the economy is simple: Trust John McCain's record of keeping taxes low and fighting wasteful government spending or support Barack Obama's expensive calls to grow government and raise taxes on working families."

Mr. Obama, of Illinois, also took a swipe at rival Democrat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who has seen her double-digit lead in the Keystone State slip to about 5 points in recent polls.

"We let go of the past, but we never finished that bridge to a future of lasting prosperity," he said, referring to President Bill Clinton's 1996 slogan about building a bridge to the 21st century. "Instead, we lost that common stake in each other's prosperity."

Mrs. Clinton, who needs a decisive win in Pennsylvania to help keep her in the race, is struggling to shore up union votes after revelations a top adviser worked on behalf of a trade deal she opposes.

She got a boost yesterday from Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic rival John Edwards and a cancer survivor, who said Mrs. Clinton's health care plan would "be more successful" in achieving universal coverage.

Both candidates covet an endorsement from Mr. Edwards, whose home state of North Carolina holds a primary May 6.

Mr. Obama's criticism stems from Mr. McCain last month voicing support for letting market forces run their course and for limited government intervention to bail out banks and borrowers caught in the housing crunch.

Mr. McCain says he backs an economic fix with reduced government spending, middle-class tax cuts and a balanced federal budget.

"We have to make sure that people keep their homes and that we create more jobs and, by the way, I am a strong believer in free trade," he told CNN.

Mr. Obama's economic proposals include tax cuts for working families, doubling federal spending on high-tech research, increasing the minimum wage and investing more federal dollars in developing green technologies and job training programs.

"Every four years, politicians come to Pennsylvania promising to protect American jobs. And every four years they go back to Washington and nothing changes — because the special interests and lobbyists keep blocking change," Mr. Obama said after the announcement the York Peppermint Patty plant in Reading, Pa., was closing and moving its operations to Mexico.

"I'm running for president because working families can't afford to wait another four years while the same old Washington players play the same old Washington game," he said. "It's time to end business-as-usual in Washington so we can bring about real change for the American people."