Yet polls suggest many voters are not buying it. In a season of discontent that could mark a turning point in Bush's political fortunes, even his centre-right Republican Party's traditional lead on economic issues is in question.
Protecting the US against terrorism remains Bush's top campaign theme for the November 7 Congressional elections. But he lifted the economy to the number-two spot in the last week, touting his past tax cuts and saying 'America must remain entrepreneurial heaven.'
His portrayal of the centre-left Democrats as the party of higher taxes drew angry rebuttals from opposition leaders, who argue that wages for average Americans have lagged behind inflation under Bush and that his tax cuts benefit high earners the most.
Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the US Senate, said, 'Workers are still hurting in the Bush economy.' Under the Republicans, he said, 'The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is getting squeezed.'
All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and one third of the 100 Senate seats are in play next month, with slumping public support for the war in Iraq and sleaze scandals in Congress posing mounting problems for Republicans.
Analysts say the Democrats are within reach of retaking control of the House for the first time in 12 years, with a longer shot in the Senate.
Terrorism and Iraq remain the hot-button topics for voters. But in a worrying sign for Republicans, a survey this month found that most Americans also distrust them on pocketbook issues.
Asked which party in Congress would do a better job of dealing with the economy, 54 per cent chose the Democrats and 36 per cent the Republicans. The Gallup poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Peter Morici, a University of Maryland business professor and frequent administration critic, has blamed a 'two-tiered labour market' he says has led to a 'skewed distribution of opportunities.'
Bush's list of positive data includes more than 6.6 million US jobs added since August 2003, a current jobless rate of 4.6 per cent and an economy that grew at a 4.1-per-cent annual pace in the first two quarters of this year, according to White House calculations.
Republicans are also hoping for a boost from a drop in the federal budget deficit to 248 billion dollars in the latest fiscal year. Nevertheless, many conservatives are dismayed that government spending under Bush has risen instead of being reduced.
In a campaign pitch, Bush last week credited the eased deficit to lower taxes, saying the policy had spurred the economy so well that tax receipts from corporations actually rose.
The Democrats pounced on another bit of economic news Thursday: a record US trade deficit with China of 22 billion dollars in August, part of an all-time high monthly gap of nearly 70 billion dollars.
Democrats charge that Bush has failed to confront China over its trade and currency policies, making him partly to blame for the loss of millions of US manufacturing jobs to Asia.
It's an argument that the Democrats hope will mobilize core voters on the left.
'The president's failed economic policies have resulted in another month of record trade deficits, once again highlighting the need for a new direction,' House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.
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