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Clinton savages Bush on economy
24/01/2008 22:41 - (SA)
Greenville - Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton savaged President George W Bush on Thursday about the economy, saying his "bankrupt" ideas sparked a downturn felt around the world.
New York Senator Clinton sharpened her rhetoric two-days before the South Carolina primary, the next leg of the 2008 nominating marathon, which polls say her top party rival Barack Obama is poised to win.
As she laid out how she would bring the US economy roaring back from a feared recession, Obama, an Illinois senator, took his own swipe at Clinton, saying her economic plan proved she would say anything to get elected.
Clinton accused Bush of failing to throw himself into the hard work of daily management of the economy, arguing that his decision to stay at a "comfortable cruising altitude" had led to US finances going off the rails.
President 'must solve problems'
"Our economic problems are complex, but there is one thing we know for sure: the problem with our economy is not the American people, instead, the problem is, in part, the bankrupt ideas of President George W Bush.
"The American people don't hire a president to talk about our problems, but to solve them," she said, again laying out plans to tackle the mortgage crunch, high energy prices and make health care and education more affordable.
"It's time we had a president who believes that leading an economic comback is a full-time, hands-on job," said Clinton, arguing that she was uniquely qualified to bring the staggering US economy bouncing back.
Obama earlier accused Clinton of initially failing to realise that "workers and seniors" needed immediate relief in her stimulus plan designed to head off reccession when she first laid out her economic plans on January 11.
Obama said in a written statement: "Five days later, the economy didn't really change, but the politics apparently did, because she changed her plan to look just like mine.
Stimulus plan
"We can't afford a president whose positions change with the politics of the moment," said Obama.
"We need a president who knows that being ready on day one means getting it right from day one," he said, copying language frequently used by Clinton to portray what she says is her readiness to lead.
Clinton's campaign says she was the first major presidential candidate to call for a stimulus plan, last year, and unveiled on January 11details of the mammoth package now totalling $110bn (about R770bn).
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