US President George W. Bush has attacked Senator John Kerry's record on taxes and social issues like gay marriage and abortion as he used his weekly radio address to make a plea for his re-election.
In the final stretch of the presidential election campaign, Mr Bush sought to drive home his portrayal of Mr Kerry as a liberal out of step with the mainstream.
Mr Bush revived charges he has used on the campaign trail as he accused Mr Kerry of voting to raise taxes 98 times, a claim Democrats dispute.
"Now, he is promising over $2.2 trillion in new spending, and paying for it would require broad tax increases on small business and the middle class," the president said.
Mr Kerry has promised to roll back Mr Bush's tax cut on those making more than $200,000 a year and has said he would plow the money into expanding health care.
At a televised town-hall style debate a week ago, the Massachusetts senator looked into the camera and pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class.
The president also criticized Mr Kerry for a 1996 vote against the "Defence of Marriage Act," which allows states to refuse to recognise marriage licenses issued to gay couples by another state, and votes against measures that would restrict abortions.
Mr Bush has called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, a move favored by conservatives at the heart of his political base. Mr Kerry opposes such an amendment.
Bush, who returned to Washington last night after campaigning in the Midwest, was heading to the crucial battleground state of Florida today.
Polls show Mr Bush and Mr Kerry in a statistical dead heat with less than three weeks left before the November 2nd election.