U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama focused their
campaigns Tuesday on the economy and their plans to fix the country's
financial crisis.
In Florida, Senator McCain, the Republican nominee, blamed greed and
mismanagement of Wall Street and Washington for huge financial
casualties. He says he would set up a commission to study the cause of
the crisis and find solutions.
Speaking in Colorado, Obama argued it is already known how the
financial crisis came about and said the country needs leadership to
solve the problem.
At a later campaign stop in Ohio, McCain slammed Obama for a lavish
Tuesday night fundraising event, featuring singer and actress Barbara
Streisand at a cost of thousands of dollars a person (28-thousand-five-hundred
dollars a person for a reception and dinner and 25-hundred dollars a
ticket for the event with Streisand). McCain criticized Obama for
talking about siding with the people just before a Hollywood fundraiser
with "his celebrity friends." The Republican nominee said there is no
place he would rather be than with "the working men and women of Ohio."
In a separate development, five lawmakers in Alaska are suing to stop
an investigation involving McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah
Palin, and her firing of a public safety commissioner.
The lawsuit calls the investigation led by the Alaskan Legislative Council unlawful, biased and partisan.
Some of Palin's opponents say the commissioner was fired for refusing
to dismiss a state trooper who is Palin's sister's ex-husband. The
McCain campaign says the commissioner was fired because of
insubordination on budget issues and that Palin will likely not speak
with investigators in the probe.