WASHINGTON -- Presidents and lesser politicians have been delivered to victory more often than not for taking tough stands on crime. Yet during a year punctuated by mass shootings at a Colorado movie theater and temple in Wisconsin, crime has all but vanished from public discussion this campaign season. In a presidential election cycle dominated by concerns for a faltering economy and unemployment, crime rated a forgettable asterisk earlier this month in a Gallup Poll, representing less than 1% of Americans who believed it was the nation's most pressing problem. "When the economy is as big a problem as it is, it kind of squashes out the others," said Frank Newport, Gallup's editor in chief. The campaigns of President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney suggest that the candidates have consistently expressed their commitment to public safety. Calling for the creation of a Veterans Job Corps this summer, Obama said troops returning from war could fill jobs as police and firefighters. This week, he also pledged a more aggressive effort to thwart human trafficking and forced labor. "President Obama's policies have kept cops and other first responders on the street to keep our communities safe," Obama spokesman Adam Fetcher said.