John McCain and Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail today after their party conventions and clashed over the US economy as unemployment hit its highest monthly rate in nearly five years.
Hours after accepting the Republican nomination, Mr McCain and running mate Sarah Palin opened a two-month sprint to the November 4th presidential election in Wisconsin, and Democrat Obama headed to Pennsylvania to tout their cures for the economy.
A new report showed the US jobless rate unexpectedly shot up to 6.1 per cent in August, adding to public worries about an economy that opinion polls show was already the top concern for US voters.
"Americans are hurting and we must act to create jobs," Mr McCain said in a statement, promising to enact a jobs programme and retrain workers for a changing market.
He criticised his rival's tax proposals, which include a large tax cut for lower- and middle-class workers but would increase taxes for the wealthiest Americans. "The American people cannot afford a Barack Obama presidency," he said.
Mr Obama, an Illinois senator, said the job losses showed the need for change in the economic approach used over the last eight years under President George W. Bush. He said McCain would mean more of the same.
"Today's jobs report is a reminder of what's at stake in this election," he said in a statement. "John McCain showed last night that he is intent on continuing the economic policies that just this year have caused the American economy to lose 605,000 jobs."
The renewed battle on the economy came the day after Mr McCain's acceptance speech concluded the Republican convention. Mr Obama accepted the Democratic nod at his party's convention the week before.
The next major campaign milestone is the first of three debates, on September 26th in Oxford, Mississippi.
Ms Palin, the Alaska governor, meets Mr Obama's running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, in a debate between vice presidential candidates on October 2nd in St. Louis.
Ms Palin has been shielded from most public events and has not done new interviews since she was picked for the job in a move that ignited a blaze of support among Republican social conservatives. She heads out on her own on the campaign trail next week.
Last night, Mr McCain, keen to distance himself from the current administration, touted his credentials as a reformer and portrayed himself as the real agent of change.
"I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you," Mr McCain said in an address that included only passing criticisms of Mr Obama after a four-day convention marked by scathing attacks on the Democrat.
"I've fought corruption and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans," the Arizona senator said as Mr Palin, the relatively unknown Alaska governor who he chose last week as his surprise running mate, watched from the stands.
Mr McCain and Ms Palin flew out of Minnesota immediately after the convention ended with the traditional sea of balloons, heading to Wisconsin for a morning campaign event and later in the day to Michigan and Colorado and on Saturday to New Mexico.
Mr McCain trails his rival slightly in most national opinion polls as they head into the election but he promised the Republican faithful at the convention he would win.
Reuters