MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, (AFP) - Democrat John Kerry sharpened his populist tone in the US heartland, accusing President George W. Bush of bleeding the middle class while lining the pockets of the rich.
"In the end, George Bush and I just have fundamentally different approaches to jobs and the economy," Kerry said in a speech in this electorally crucial midwestern state.
"He thinks that we should give more to the most and, eventually, a little something will filter down to the middle class," the Massachusetts senator said. "He judges the success of our economy by the success of those at the top. I disagree."
Kerry, pressing home a line of attack he has also used on Iraq, painted Bush as indifferent to the struggles of American families which he said often could not meet basic expenses, even with two salaries coming in.
"The problem is, this president just doesn't understand what has happened, or he understands and he doesn't care."
Kerry and Bush scouted votes in Wisconsin and Iowa, which narrowly went Democratic but are two of the closely watched battleground states for this year's November 2 election.
Bush lashed out against Kerry's social platform as outdated.
"This economy is moving forward and we're not going back to the old days of tax-and-spend," Bush said during a campaign stop in central Iowa en route for Wisconsin.
Bush said Kerry will raise their taxes if he wins.
"On issue after issue, from jobs to health care, to the need to strengthen social security, senator Kerry's policies fail to recognize the changing realities of today's world and the need for fundamental reforms," Bush charged.
While most polls showed the White House race virtually deadlocked, a new survey released by Zogby International showed Bush opening a 48-percent to 44-percent edge among likely voters, with a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
Fifty-five percent had a favorable view of Bush, up three points since Thursday, while 43 percent had a negative opinion, Zogby said. Kerry's favorability rating was stable at 53 percent, while 45 percent were down on him.
Flushed with success in his televised debates with Bush that pulled him even in the race and bolstered his national security credentials, Kerry trained his sights on the economy, considered most important to swing voters.
He kicked off a day-long bus trip through Wisconsin, accompanied by members of the US women's Olympic soccer team, to pummel Bush as an out-of-touch leader who has championed the "powerful and well-connected" over middle-class families.
Kerry lashed out at tax cuts he said favored the rich and at the net loss of US jobs under Bush. He said the administration had done nothing to raise the minimum wage and failed to bring down health care and energy costs.
"The most important thing is to lower the cost of health care and to raise incomes for middle class Americans, put in place a 4,000-dollar-tuition tax credit, get 1,000 dollars into the pocket of Americans by lowering their health care premiums," Kerry told CNN.
Kerry also addressed Bush's challenge during Wednesday's debate: to explain how he will pay for his programs.
"I'm going to cut 100,000 contractors from the federal government," he told CNN.
"I'm going to consolidate 70 different statistical agencies into one. I'm going to consolidate 10 export agencies into one," he said.
Bush, speaking in Wisconsin later in the day, called Kerry's health plan "an overpriced albatross, which would saddle small businesses with 225 new mandates."
"Health care must be available and affordable and portable to help small businesses, and we don't need to saddle them with a bunch of government rules," Bush said.
Kerry was to head for Ohio, another critical midwestern state. Bush was to travel Saturday to the southeastern state of Florida, which was pivotal four years ago.
Meanwhile, the Democratic campaign asked the Sinclair Broadcasting Group of 62 stations for equal time to respond to a documentary highly critical of Kerry it planned to air just before the election.