Oct 14, 2008 9:00 am US/Pacific
Biden: McCain Short On New Ideas For Economy
WARREN, Ohio (AP) ―
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Tuesday that Republican John McCain is offering no new ideas for a financially distressed nation, only the same negativity toward rival Barack Obama.
"What did John McCain do? He laid out some new attacks on Barack Obama," Biden said in criticizing McCain's latest stump speech. "The distinction could not be clearer — one guy is fighting for you and the other guy is fighting mad."
Biden spoke to about 1,000 high school students and union members at an amphitheater in downtown Warren, a park-like setting starkly different from the boarded-up restaurants, closed gas stations and half-vacant shopping plazas on the city's outskirts.
Warren sits in the heart of a three-county region that is about to be made part of Appalachia by the federal government, a designation that will allow the economically depressed area to receive assistance from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Biden promoted Obama's proposals for immediate aid for those with financial hardships: a moratorium on foreclosures, a $1,000 rebate to help homeowners with heating costs, and penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts.
"John has nothing new to offer," Biden said. "That's why you're seeing John McCain's campaign becoming so erratic."
McCain proposed Tuesday that the government eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits as part of a $52.5 billion economic plan to address the financial crisis. He also proposed lowering the tax rate on Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans.
Biden told the Warren audience that there's a fundamental difference between the Democratic and Republican tickets. Then someone in the audience shouted, "Brains!" The Delaware senator laughed and the crowd cheered.
"Maybe I should stop here," Biden chuckled.
Warren was Biden's first stop on a two-day bus tour of eastern and central Ohio cities hit hard by the economic meltdown. He was to attend rallies in two other Appalachian Ohio cities on Tuesday, St. Clairsville and Marietta. On Wednesday, he was scheduled to attend community gatherings in Athens, Lancaster and Newark.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin campaigned Sunday in St. Clairsville, a small town near the West Virginia border, and told the crowd that Obama doesn't understand such places.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
