DES MOINES -- Seven Democratic presidential hopefuls sought to convince voters Saturday they have the best strategy for reviving the sluggish U.S. economy while roundly condemning tax cuts favored by President Bush.

Candidates shared the same stage for almost three hours at a town hall meeting held by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. Each is trying to win the endorsement of a union representing 1.4 million public employees nationwide.

There were virtually no jabs between the candidates, who saved their best shots for the Republican White House. The event was part liberal-labor revival, part policy seminar and part morning at the improv.

"The president's prescription for everything is to take two tax cuts and call me in the morning," said Howard Dean, a physician and former Vermont governor, among the forum's plentiful one-liners. "My prescription is different."

Dean, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York sat in a row of chairs before more than 900 AFSCME members.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry spoke to the group later in the day via satellite and union members watched a taped interview with Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Union leaders said the president was also invited but declined the offer.

Bush's support for tax cuts was the most frequent target Saturday. Each of the candidates argued that the cuts passed in 2001 and a new round currently before Congress would primarily line the pockets of "wealthy" taxpayers.

Although the administration has asserted that tax cuts would put dollars -- and eventually jobs -- back into the economy at a critical time, Democrats argued the resources would be better used for an array of plans and programs.

"(The president) comes from a place where wealth is inherited, not earned," said Edwards, who argues tax cuts should be targeted to help parents and those seeking to attend college. "He comes from a place where opportunity is hoarded, not shared."

"The tax cuts were an absolute travesty and should be rolled back," Moseley Braun said. She argues more dollars should go to local governments struggling to build schools and shore up crumbling infrastructure. Edwards said states and municipalities should receive $50 billion in federal assistance.

Chuck Larson, Republican Party of Iowa chairman, disputed those views.

"Republicans believe fundamentally that Americans can spend their own money better than politicians can," Larson said. "It's sad that for Democrats, everything centers on spending taxpayers' money."

Gephardt repeatedly touted his $214 billion health care plan, requiring businesses to provide health insurance to workers in exchange for tax credits. He would pay for the program by rescinding Republican tax cuts. Dean and Kerry would tap the same source to pay for their health insurance proposals.

The Missouri congressman, who won Iowa's caucuses in 1988, said he would also raise the federal minimum wage and renegotiate a series of trade agreements he argues have hurt workers.

"The president's economic policy is failing, it's failed," Gephardt said. "It's made a mess of this economy."

The candidates also criticized Bush's handling of the war on terror. Graham, a former Florida governor who held a seat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, charged that the administration is trying to "cover up" what he argues are failures in dismantling terrorist organizations.

"Iraq was a distraction from the war on terror," Graham said. "We are less secure, not more secure."

"Mr. Bush, the question you have not answered is, 'Where is bin Laden?"' Sharpton said. "Mr. Bush will not be, in a Sharpton administration, the head of missing persons."

Other hopefuls argued that the White House has fallen short of providing necessary resources to local emergency response teams and law enforcement.

Sharpton and Kucinich, liberal firebrands considered long-shots, drew repeated ovations. They also received the highest marks from a focus group of 30 Iowa Democrats picked by the union to watch the town hall meeting.

Kucinich vowed to create a federal Medicare-style health insurance program covering all Americans, a New Deal-style program to create public works jobs and pledged to cancel NAFTA and other free trade agreements.

"As president, I'll make sure that workers' rights are enshrined in a workers' White House," Kucinich said.

Sharpton argued his labor credentials are unmatched among the contenders.

"I'm sure that I'm the candidate on this platform that been on more picket lines, and unquestionably more jail cells with union leaders than anybody in this race," Sharpton said. "Because this is not about what you say, this is about what you do."