McCain, Obama clash over economy

Cedarburg: Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama, back on the campaign trail after their party conventions, clashed over the ailing US economy on Friday as unemployment hit its highest monthly rate in nearly five years.

Hours after accepting the Republican nomination, McCain and running mate Sarah Palin opened a two-month sprint to the November 4 presidential election in Wisconsin while Democrat Obama headed to Pennsylvania as both sides touted cures for the economy.

6.1% unemployment

A new report showed the US jobless rate unexpectedly shot up to 6.1 per cent in August, adding to worries about an economy that opinion polls show was already the top concern for American voters.

"These are tough times," McCain told a crowd of some 12,000 in the Milwaukee suburb of Cedarburg. "Today the jobs report is another reminder."

He pledged to keep taxes low and cut them where possible. He criticised Obama's tax proposals, which include a large tax cut for lower and middle-class workers but increased taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

Obama, an Illinois senator, said the job losses showed the need for change in the economic approach.

Speaking to workers at a glass and lens manufacturer in Duryea, Pennsylvania, Obama chided McCain for failing to address the economy at the Republican convention.

He portrayed McCain as being out of touch with ordinary American workers. "John McCain the other day said that he thought the economy was fundamentally sound," he said. "Well what's more fundamental than having a job?