Edwards says Bush has failed American workers

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday blamed President Bush for failing American workers and said the president was trying to hide a dismal record on job creation.

"The truth is not enough jobs are being created to even take care of the new people going into the work force, much less the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their jobs over the last several years," Edwards said at the beginning of a two-day bus tour of Wisconsin.

"The one thing you can count on, this administration - President Bush and Vice President Cheney - they are going to try every way they know to put lipstick on this pig," Edwards said. "But you know, when you put lipstick on a pig, at the end of the day it's still a pig, isn't it?"

Edwards spoke at a rally at Bay Beach Amusement Park about an hour before President Bush campaigned about 200 miles away near Milwaukee, a day after the Republican National Convention.

A crowd of more than 500 sign-waving people sweltered in 85-degree heat. Edwards halted his speech when an elderly woman briefly collapsed to the ground. When she got back up, he led a round of applause.

Edwards said the GOP convention featured "lots of anger, lots of negative personal attacks. What about a plan for America?"

Edwards said he agreed with one thing Bush said - that the president should be judged on his record.

The president's record includes 5 million more people without health insurance, 4 million Americans falling into poverty and more than 1.5 million private jobs lost, including 65,000 manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin, Edwards said.

"This is the first presidency in 75 years that didn't create jobs. And they've got every excuse known to man," Edwards said, standing before a banner that read: "A stronger America begins at home."

Wisconsin is considered a battleground state for the November election. Bush lost to Democrat Al Gore in 2000 by about 6,000 votes.

Amy Dennis, 27, of DePere, said she lost her job a month ago and liked how Edwards talked about creating jobs, "making it easier for everybody in every day life."