NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO. ? The Bush administration has turned its back on the financial struggles of middle-class Americans by not doing enough to protect jobs or reduce health care costs, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said Monday.

Elizabeth Edwards made a Labor Day visit to about 50 residents gathered in a neighborhood in North Kansas City, part of what was described as a “front-porch conversation.”

Edwards said the president has missed his own predictions for creating new jobs in Missouri by 183,000 and that a third of the jobs that have been created are temporary or low-paying.

Meanwhile, the administration has done nothing to prevent companies from shipping 300,000 jobs overseas, she said, noting that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said last week that outsourcing was part of a dynamic economy and that foreign companies have created 9 million jobs in the United States.

“I think outsourcing and paying less for workers and not enforcing our trade agreements is good for the bottom line on Wall Street,” she said. “It’s not good for the lives of real people on Main Street.”

A Bush spokesman responded that the president’s policies have been effective.

“The bottom line is President Bush’s decisive leadership is making a difference in Missouri where good paying jobs are being created, unemployment is down, and home ownership is on the rise,” said spokesman Brian Jones.

The gathering was on the front lawn of Ron Ohrenberg, a United Parcel Service driver, and his wife, Jacki, a teacher’s aide. Edwards said the couple and their two children were an example of the vast number of Americans “living on the economic razor.”