US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and President George W. Bush traded accusations and criticism on Friday, with Kerry accusing the Bush administration of cronyism in granting government contracts and Bush warning voters that Kerry would raise taxes.

At a campaign stop in battleground state New Mexico, Kerry accused the Bush administration of giving huge defense contracts to Halliburton, the company Vice President Dick Cheney once ran, and then turning a blind eye to its waste and overcharging.

"Dick Cheney's old company, Halliburton, has profited from the mess in Iraq at the expense of American troops and taxpayers," Kerry said. "It's an abuse of the American taxpayer. It's an abuse of trust."

The Kerry campaign will air an ad targeting Cheney next week in Oregon and other battleground states, saying conflicts of interest stemming from money that Cheney still receives from Halliburton under a deferred compensation agreement.

Bush, meanwhile, warned voters that Kerry would harm job growth and the economy by raising taxes on small businesses.

"My opponent has proposed at least 2.2 trillion dollars in new federal spending so far. And we still have the month of October to go," Mr. Bush told supporters at a fund-raiser in Washington.

The Bush campaign on Friday began airing a new television on national cable networks and some local media markets, attacking Kerry over his domestic proposals.

"The liberals in Congress and Kerry's plan: raises taxes on small business. 900,000 small business owners would pay higher tax rates than most multinational corporations. Tax increases would hurt jobs, hurt small business and hurt our economy," the ad says.

Source: Xinhua