AFL-CIO President John Sweeney was quick to criticize the Republican president and the leading contender for the Republican nomination for president after last week’s release of grim unemployment data.

Like George Bush, John McCain has offered “only band-aid solutions for an economy that is quickly bleeding out,” Sweeney says.

But how can the nation’s largest union federation criticize the Republicans without endorsing a candidate among the Democrats?

Enough details have surfaced from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) campaigns’ for a large organization like the AFL-CIO to make a decision on who to endorse. If unions can’t identify who to vote for, how are their members going to identify who is better for workers.

Sweeney tells us that, “The loss of 20,000 jobs in April plunges thousands more into economic despair and adds new stress to those already out of work.” OK. Both Democratic candidates can agree with that.

Then he says, “Contrary to the claims of President Bush and Sen. McCain who say the recent downturn is simply a bump in the road, the current nosedive is the result of a number of fundamental economic imbalances that have resulted from misguided policies put in place over the past 30 years.”

Does that mean he is criticizing the policies of President Bill Clinton in this three-decade attack. How is Hillary different from Bill?

Sweeney then tells us Congress must pass a second stimulus bill, including fiscal relief to cash-strapped states and an extension of unemployment benefits to help those most at risk as the job market worsens. There should also be an immediate moratorium on foreclosures for sub-prime loans, to keep more families from losing their houses. An aggressive job creation plan needs to put Americans back to work. Infrastructure projects that will rebuild crumbling schools, bridges and roads – and investment in the green jobs of the future are solutions.

Can he also tell us who is going to deliver?