Palin 'didn't focus on economy'

Washington - Democratic vice presidential hopeful Joe Biden on Thursday said his Republican vice presidential rival, Sarah Palin, missed the point in her critical convention speech by not talking about how to fix the country's economic woes.

Biden told CNN television that Palin, the Alaska governor who electrified party faithful, "had a very skilfully written and very skilfully delivered political speech and I was impressed with her".

But, Biden said, she failed to mention "the middle class or health care or about how people are going to fill up their gas tanks".

"I didn't hear a single word about how you're going to get our kids to college; so I was impressed with the speech but impressed with what I didn't hear spoken," Biden said.

Biden, running along with Senator Barack Obama, said John McCain's vice presidential pick did not offer "a single word or phrase about how to deal with the retirement security for people and social security".

"I didn't hear the word Afghanistan or Pakistan mentioned where the terrorists live. Where al-Qaeda is," Biden stressed.

Biden said that fellow senator "John McCain is a great hero. John's my friend. ... But we need more than, you know, a good soldier and a brave American. We need a wise leader."

- AFP