The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 percent in the third quarter as fearful consumers cut back on spending. The new numbers, the steepest decline since 2001, provided fresh fodder for both campaigns.
"If you want to know where John McCain will drive this economy, just look in the rearview mirror," Obama said. "Because when it comes to our economic policies, John McCain has been right next to George Bush. He's been sitting there in the passenger seat ready to take over, every step of the way."
"All of this didn't happen by accident," Obama said. "Our falling GDP is a direct result of a failed economic theory of eight years of trickle-down, Wall-Street-first, Main-Street-last policies that have driven our economy into a ditch."
While casting McCain as a champion of tax cuts for the rich and lax regulation of Wall Street, Obama renewed pledges to cut taxes for the middle class and crack down on corporate greed.
In response, McCain's campaign released a statement saying that Obama "would drive this sputtering economy off a cliff."
"If voters looked into Barack Obama's rearview, they'd see that he supported every one of Washington's wasteful spending bills and has voted for higher taxes 94 times in just three years," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "His economic proposals are driven by job-killing tax increases and out-of-control spending."
McCain has ruled out any tax increase while Obama has called for more taxes for families earning more than $250,000 a year. The Democrat has also called for a tax cut for those earning less.
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the Democrats' vice presidential candidate, campaigned yesterday in Missouri.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin campaigned in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Today, Palin campaigns in Pennsylvania, including a rally in York.
