Candidates pin blame in financial 'crisis'

WASHINGTON -- Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain called Monday for tougher oversight of Wall Street while arguing over the causes of what both called a financial "crisis."

Republican McCain blamed "self-interest, greed, irresponsibility and corruption" at the top of the U.S. financial system. Democrat Obama cited GOP economic policies that he said favor the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

"It's a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise," Obama said while campaigning in Grand Junction, Colo.

Obama also blasted McCain for saying "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." The Illinois senator said it shows his Republican opponent is out of touch. McCain said he was referring to the skills and productivity of U.S. workers. "We are going to reform the way Wall Street does business," McCain said during a town-hall-style meeting in Orlando.

The campaigns reshuffled their messages Monday following the collapse of two Wall Street giants. Lehman Bros. declared bankruptcy, while Merrill Lynch merged with Bank of America.

Mark Bloomfield, president of the American Council for Capital Formation, a think tank, said the candidates are not traditional members of their parties: McCain advocates more regulation of big business than many Republicans, while Obama is more free market-oriented than other Democrats.

"They are backing the Federal Reserve and the Treasury and the economic policymakers on stepping in as they have stepped in to date," he said.

McCain's campaign released an ad, called "Crisis," that advocates "tougher rules on Wall Street to protect your life savings." Obama senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee said McCain has "no record" on financial regulatory issues, adding Obama's plan is "to set the rules of the road and re-establish public trust" in financial markets.

Both candidates opposed any sort of taxpayer bailout of Lehman Bros. Both traced the overall problems of the financial system to the housing crisis, including record numbers of foreclosures due to faulty loans.