The Hindu : Kerry promises to protect jobs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004

International

International

Kerry promises to protect jobs

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 25. The Democratic front-runner, John Kerry, has scored easy and solid wins in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii on his way to the March 2 Super Tuesday .

It was not difficult for the Massachusetts politician in western U.S. by any stretch of imagination. He handily beat his Senate colleague, John Edwards, by more than 20 percentage points in Utah and Idaho; and in Hawaii had an easy win over the Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich.

Mr. Kerry hit back at the President, George W Bush, who pointedly took on his potential Democratic opponent for November 2, 2004 on Monday. The four-term Senator called Mr. Bush a "walking contradiction" who has presided over job losses, a rising deficit and frayed international alliances.

And Mr. Edwards joined the fray saying that Mr. Bush had no business looking at Mr. Kerry as the Democratic nominee. "Not so fast George Bush. You do not get to decide who our nominee is."

Mr. Kerry is on the expected campaign themes as he is going through states like Ohio promising that he will protect jobs. A Kerry commercial targets the Republicans as having failed to stand up for American workers. "We need to be on the side of America's workers. George Bush will not do it. I will," says the advertisement, painting the Republican economic policy as an "astonishing failure".

Mr. Kerry is hammering away at the jobs issue in Ohio, a critical state not just in the primaries but in the Presidential elections as well. This mid western state is estimated to have lost some 270,000 jobs since Mr. Bush came to office.

Mr. Kerry was dismissive of what Mr. Bush said at a

reception-cum-fund-raiser on Monday. "Last night was almost a fantasy speech about a world that does not exist for most Americans. The President talked about a prosperity that millions of Americans are not seeing, feeling or living."

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