Clinton pledges eight million more jobs

(First Edition)

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) - Governor Bill Clinton, the Democrat presidential candidate, opened the television advertising wars of the autumn race to the White House with a commercial pledging to create eight million jobs, but Republicans say this lacks 'truth in advertising'.

The Clinton commercial pushes his achievements as Arkansas governor and says his economic strategy would create these jobs in the first four years.

In Monterey, California, Al Gore, Mr Clinton's running-mate, said the White House could not be trusted on the environment because Mr Bush had appointed people willing to 'ravage and exploit' natural resources.

At the same time the Bush-Quayle campaign claimed that under Mr Clinton's leadership, Arkansas for more than six-and-a-half-years taxed food-stamp purchases by the poor. Avis LaVelle a spokeswoman for Mr Clinton, did not dispute the assertion, ut alleged the Bush campaign was trying to 'mislead' voters. All food in Arkansas was taxed long before he took office.

The Bush-Quayle re-election team said the Democrats' jobs pledge in the advertisement 'flies in the face of reality. He has absolutely promised dollars 150bn (pounds 76bn) in new taxes and dollars 220bn in additional government spending, which will wipe out jobs rather than create them,' said Torie Clarke, a spokeswoman for Mr Bush's campaign.

George Stephanopoulos, the governor's communications director, said the jobs figure was based on government predictions of new employment from defence conversion, investment credits for businesses and investment in roads, bridges and other projects.