Kerry Hits Bush On Jobs

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday said job losses "rip the heart out of our economy" and criticized President Bush's ability to make up for the millions of jobs that have disappeared during his administration.

Swinging into the South on his first campaign trip since locking up the nomination with Super Tuesday primary victories, Kerry was focusing on employment at a rally in New Orleans. When the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent, Kerry told reporters in Boston, "At this rate the Bush administration won't create its first job for more than 10 years."

"Americans have a clear choice in this election. They can either suffer with more and more job losses that rip the heart out of our economy or they can give George Bush a new job," he said.

Louisiana, one of four states that elect Democratic delegates on Tuesday, went with Mr. Bush in 2000, but Democrats have a glimmer of hope here this year. The newly elected governor, Kathleen Blanco, is a Democrat, as are the state's two senators — three-term lawmaker John Breaux, who has announced plans to retire at year's end, and second-termer Mary Landrieu. The state offers nine electoral votes.

In 2002, Landrieu proved to be a pleasant surprise for disheartened Democrats who lost control of the Senate. Fighting off a Republican challenger — and President Bush's strong support for her rival — Landrieu won re-election in a December runoff. The moderate is considered a potential vice-presidential pick.

Jobs were the focus of a Labor Department report issued Friday that said the economy added just 21,000 positions in February. It also downgraded job gains for January from 112,000 to 97,000. Democrats consistently note that more than 2.2 million payroll jobs have been lost during the Bush administration, the worst job-creation record of any president since Herbert Hoover.

Kerry noted recent criticism of him from Vice President Dick Cheney, who said that if the Democrat was in charge rather than President Bush, the nation "would not have had the kind of job growth that we've had."

"You're darn right," Kerry said of Cheney. "We would have had real job growth."

In ridiculing Cheney's claim, the mention of the vice president's name drew boos and hisses.

"Just promise that you'll keep that primal instinct alive all the way until November," Kerry said. "Is that a deal?"

The Bush campaign viewed the additional jobs as a positive sign for the president's policies. "Today's job report demonstrates the importance of having a president in the White House who is committed to a vigorous job creation agenda of lower taxes, lower health care costs and lower energy costs," campaign spokesman Terry Holt said in a statement.

The Bush campaign also renewed its claim that Kerry, in voting against appropriating $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, had not supported U.S. military personnel in the battle zone.

"Now what that did was prevent them from having everything from body armor to additional implements that were needed and necessary to protect themselves and to make certain that they executed the mission of the United States of America," Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot said Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Also Friday, the Republican National Committee created an interactive Internet boxing game, "Kerry vs. Kerry," to highlight what it contends are Kerry's changing positions on the war, taxes, education and other policies.

"Voters will be enlightened and entertained as they click to flip and then flop with Senator Kerry on all the important issues of the day," the RNC said in a statement.

Typical for politicians visiting a state well-versed in gastronomy, Kerry stopped at a diner to sample crawfish and seafood gumbo, and told photographers, "There's nothing worse than a public person putting food in his mouth and all of you taking my picture."

On Thursday, Kerry's campaign said he would embark on a 20-city fund-raising tour later this month in hopes of collecting a quick $15 million or more to help counter the Bush campaign's huge financial advantage.

As of Feb. 1, the Bush campaign reported cash on hand of $104 million. Mr. Bush picked up an additional $1.5 million at events in California on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to his Crawford, Texas, ranch where he hosts Mexican President Vicente Fox this weekend.

Kerry, meanwhile, reported just 2.1 million cash on hand, though fund-raising has improved. The campaign reports raising at least $2 million over the Internet since Kerry locked up the Democratic nomination Tuesday, aides said.

Kerry also has tapped Jim Johnson, a prominent Washington Democrat and former aide to Vice President Walter Mondale, to lead the search for a vice presidential candidate.