Posted By: Judy Smith

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - President Bush said Saturday his tax-cutting policies have created jobs and promoted growth, economic progress he contended is jeopardized by the prospect of Democratic victories on Election Day.
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"Americans are finding jobs and they're taking home more pay. The main reason for our growing economy is that we cut taxes and left more money in the hands of families and workers and small business owners," the president said in his weekly radio address, delivered live from Mile High Coffee in suburban Denver.

Campaigning on the final weekend before Tuesday's vote, Bush told reporters just before the broadcast that he "feels good. It's quite a campaign coming down the stretch."

On the radio, he said Democrats consistently have opposed his tax cuts and they predicted the tax would not create jobs or increase wages and "would cause the federal deficit to explode."

"American workers and entrepreneurs have proved all those predictions wrong. But Democrats are still determined to raise taxes. And if they gain control of the Congress, they can do so without lifting a finger," said Bush, seated at table in the shop as patrons sipped coffee and snacked.

"I say it's a good economy right now," the president said. A government report Friday showed that the unemployment rate had fallen to a five-year low of 4.4 percent. The figures released by the Labor Department suggested employers are coping fairly well with an economy that has lost a lot of momentum due to the housing slump.

Bush said on the radio that many of his tax cuts must be renewed by Congress or they will expire.

"The choice you make on Tuesday will have a direct impact on our economy, on the small businesses that are creating jobs, and on the workers who depend on them," the president said.

"The last thing American families and small businesses need now is a higher tax bill. And that is what you'll get if the Democrats take control of the Congress. America needs leaders in Washington who understand that you know how to save, spend and invest your money better than the federal government. And we need leaders who will work to make the tax relief we delivered permanent," Bush said.

Despite the upbeat report Friday, pockets of pain were evident. The struggling auto industry slashed jobs. So did companies involved in home building, as well as furniture makers — casualties of the sour housing market. Retailers continued to pink-slip employees.

Bush's approval rating on the economy is at 40 percent among all adults surveyed in a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Those surveyed trusted Democrats more than Republicans to handle the economy.

"The Bush economy has failed the vast majority of Americans," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said. "The reality is that the top 1 percent has benefited at the expense of most Americans, and the middle class is being squeezed as incomes slow and costs increase. We need a new direction for our economy and middle class."

After the radio address, Bush was having breakfast with small business owners and speaking at a rally in Greeley, Colo., for GOP candidates, including Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (news, bio, voting record). On Friday, Democrats unleashed a costly televised attack on Musgrave, a second-term lawmaker in an unexpectedly tight race for re-election.

Musgrave faces Democrat Angie Paccione — a former basketball player from New York City who now is a state legislator from Fort Collins.

Later Saturday, Bush was traveling to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was helping first lady Laura Bush celebrate her birthday.

"I'm not going to tell you her age," he told a campaign crowd in Springfield, Mo., on Friday. "But we were both born in the same year, and I turned 60 this year."

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