The Other America

"For the sake of job growth," said Mr. Bush, to the loud applause of the Congressional bobbleheads at his State of the Union address, "the tax cuts you passed should be made permanent."

Job growth? That's the weirdest thing Mr. Bush has said since he told a CNN discussion group, "As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards."

Nearly 2.5 million jobs have been lost since Mr. Bush became president, and the most recent employment statistics have made a mockery of the claim that tax cuts for the rich would be the engine of job growth for the middle and working classes.

Two days after the speech, Eastman Kodak announced plans to cut its work force by as much as 23 percent — 12,000 to 15,000 jobs — by the end of 2006. The news sent tremors through Rochester, where Kodak has its headquarters. More than 21,000 Kodak workers and their families live in and around Rochester.

The economy created a meager 1,000 jobs in December. Moreover, according to a report released Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute, there has been a nationwide shift of jobs from higher-paying to lower-paying industries. In New Hampshire, where the Democratic presidential candidates are locked in a fierce primary fight, the wages in industries gaining jobs are 35 percent lower than in those losing jobs. New Hampshire is one of 30 states that have fewer jobs now than when the recession officially ended in November 2001.

el - Edwards campaign is all about the two Americas. Except all the Democrats are freely stealing each others ideas and talking points now.