The Republican laid into Obama, accusing him of taking campaign cash and counsel from some of the big-business architects of the crisis.

"Senator Obama may be taking their advice and he may be taking their money, but in a McCain-Palin administration, there will be no seat for these people at the policy-making table," McCain said of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

"This is the problem with Washington, people like Senator Obama have been too busy gaming the system and haven't ever done a thing to actually challenge the system," he said in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

"Maybe just this once he could spare us the lectures, and admit to his own poor judgment in contributing to these problems."

Obama, at a rally in Florida where he assailed McCain on women's issues, said that in the Republican's speech, "his big solution to this worldwide economic crisis was to blame me for it."

"This is a guy who's spent nearly three decades in Washington. After spending the entire campaign saying I haven't been in Washington long enough, he apparently now is willing to assign me responsibility for all of Washington's failings," he said.

"I think it's pretty clear that Senator McCain is a little panicked right now. At this point he seems to be willing to say anything, or do anything, or change any position, or violate any principle to try and win this election."

The federal government is working on a sweeping series of programs that would represent perhaps the biggest intervention in financial markets since the 1930s, embracing the need for a comprehensive approach to the financial crisis after a series of ad hoc rescues.

At the center of the potential plan is a mechanism that would take bad assets off the balance sheets of financial companies, said people familiar with the matter, a device that echoes similar moves taken in past financial crises. The size of the entity could reach hundreds of billions of dollars...

World markets soar

Paulson plan could cost $1 trillion

Gallup: most say financial crisis won't affect their vote

In the survey, taken Wednesday, 29% of registered voters said the crisis makes them more likely to vote for Obama, compared with 23% who said they were more likely to vote for McCain. Forty-three percent said the virtual collapse of major financial institutions such as Lehman Bros. and the resulting market plunge will have no effect when they go to the polls Nov. 4.

GOP sees rebound in battle for Congress

After months of fundraising doldrums, recruitment misfires and daunting polls, Republicans believe they are finally on the rebound in the battle for Congress.

Both sides concede that the GOP stands almost no chance of taking back the House or Senate in November, but party leaders think the Palin factor and an increasingly competitive fight for the White House have generated enthusiasm and momentum that could limit GOP losses to only a few Senate seats and perhaps fewer than a dozen House seats.

see also:

GOP brand making a comeback

Bill Clinton: 'Mistake to underestimate' Palin

"...I get why she has done so well.
It would be a mistake to underestimate her.
She has got — her intuitive skills are significant.”

Clinton’s not surprised by the bounce John McCain saw in the polls after naming the Alaska governor as his running mate.

“She is an instinctively effective candidate with a compelling story,” Clinton told CNBC. “And I think it was exciting to some that she was a woman, that she is from Alaska.”

He said Palin grew up in a culture that is probably “well to the right” of most Americans, but that she didn’t “define herself in those terms.”

Clinton said she “handled herself well,” but reiterated his support for the Democratic ticket.

Nader, Barr muscle onto the Nov. ballots