The Road Ahead for Obama

DURYEA, Pa., Sept. 5, 2008— -- After last night's close of the Republican National Convention -- marking the end of a compressed two-week political period filled with celebratory speeches and soaring rhetoric -- the candidates were back on the trail today talking about the bread-and-butter issues that will carry this election. And with just over eight weeks to go until election day, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is focused on the economy and the swing voters who are suffering.

New job figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent and that 84,000 jobs were lost in the month of August. These disappointing job loss numbers gave Obama another opportunity to attack Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on the issue he will focus on most in the next 60 days: the economy.

"Unfortunately, we just got a jobs report today that showed we had lost another 80,000 jobs. We've now lost 605,000 jobs since the beginning of this year," Obama said at his economic town hall in Duryea, Pa. "John McCain the other day said that he thought the economy was fundamentally sound. The fundamentals of the economy were sound. Now, what's more fundamental than having a job?"

In traditional battleground states, such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio and Florida -- and new ones, like Colorado, Indiana, and Virginia -- Obama will focus on the simple message that McCain represents a continuation of George Bush's economic policies that have hurt the middle class.

"Since George Bush has been in office, the average family income has gone down $2,000, so people don't have as much money," Obama said. "You would think that George Bush and his potential Republican successor, John McCain, would be spending a lot of time worrying about the economy and all these jobs that are being lost on their watch."

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today that, despite reports, the U.S. economy is "quite resilient" and the administration see signs of economic growth.

Obama not only compared McCain's economic policies to those of Bush, but also criticized him for not focusing on the issue more during the Republican National Convention.