The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Warren

Republican frontrunner John McCain took his plain-talk on US economic troubles to the hard-hit blue collar state of Michigan Saturday, as the specter of recession took center stage in the presidential race.

Buoyed by a national poll placing him ahead, McCain vied with his Republican rivals campaigning in Michigan, home to a troubled car industry and 7.4 percent unemployment, where the party holds its primary nominating contest on Tuesday.

At a rally in this Detroit suburb, McCain attacked claims by his rivals that they can bring back the jobs lost when US automakers shuttered plants in the face of a steady loss of market share to Asian competitors.

"I would be ashamed and embarrassed to say that some of those jobs are coming back," he said. "I'm proud to say that I can bring jobs, new jobs, good jobs, to the state of Michigan."

His flagging rival candidate Mitt Romney meanwhile waged a high-stakes fight for the survival of his campaign after defeats in the two opening nominating contests, vowing to fight for jobs in the state where he was born and his father used to be governor.