Democrats on Trail Rip Stimulus Talks With Bush

But Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, a conservative economic political action committee, called such reticence "a disappointing lack of leadership."

For the GOP candidates, the bleak economic news provided both opportunities and challenges as they compete in a tight contest in Florida. Campaigning in Coral Springs, Romney said that "people recognize now more than ever that it makes a difference having a president who has actually had a job in the private sector."

For McCain and Giuliani, the new focus on the domestic economy is trickier. Each has spent much of the past year touting his experience and leadership on foreign policy issues. McCain recovered from a campaign crisis by tying himself to Bush on the issue of troop increases in Iraq. Giuliani is best known for his performance as mayor after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on his city.

But both are trying to pivot their message to the economy. Giuliani's communications director, Katie Levinson, said the issue will help him highlight what she described as his successes as mayor in reining in spending and cutting taxes.

Yesterday, several Giuliani supporters introduced legislation aimed at reforming the income tax, eliminating the estate tax and simplifying tax forms. The measure, dubbed the FAST Act, is co-sponsored by some lawmakers who are not backing Giuliani, but the plan's similarities with the former mayor's proposals is a sign of some limited interplay between Congress and the 2008 campaign.

Some Republicans saw an advantage in the discordant notes Democrats are sending out in Washington and on the campaign trail. Pelosi and Reid seemed to be ignoring the detailed policy solutions being put out by her party's White House hopefuls, they noted. And Obama, who is running as a "post partisan" candidate, appears to be showing the limits of his bipartisanship.

"Partisan hits may play well in Democratic primaries, but it's not going to help the economy," said Alex Conant, a Republican National Committee spokesman.