ALLEN PARK, Mich.-Amid the festive Halloween decorations and tidy lawns that dot the streets of this Detroit suburb, warning flags abound for President George W. Bush as he moves into the campaign season.

The swing voters in the mostly white, blue-collar suburb of about 29,000 say they are deeply troubled by the near-daily reports of casualties and chaos in Iraq. And even though the economy shows signs of improvement, voters here express concern about a raft of layoffs and cutbacks that have left Michigan's economy reeling.

With the election a year away, those twin troubles may signal a difficult road for Bush in his efforts to court the independent voters who could hold the key to next year's contest in Michigan and other swing states around the nation.

They are voters like James Maurer, 78, who supported Bush in 2000 but whose opinion of the president has soured in recent months.

"He was doing a good job until we got into all this mess," Maurer said, referring to Iraq. Now, he said, "we're just losing all our men over there, and we don't seem to be accomplishing anything."

Maurer said he favored the war at first but now wishes Bush would get U.S. troops out.

"We should just draw out and save some lives - and money too," said Maurer, a World War II veteran and retired commercial artist. "He's wasting a lot of money over there, when we could use it here."

Maurer described himself as a Republican but added that he doesn't vote straight party line. He said he was unsure how he would vote next year.

Just as it was in 2000, Michigan is expected to be one of a few states on which next year's presidential election could turn. Al Gore won the state four years ago, but Bush's top political strategists have set their sights on putting Michigan back in the GOP column, with the president making 11 visits to the state since taking office.