Campaign 2008 Excerpts: Monday "Meltdown" Edition (with video)

"In Candidates, 2 Approaches to Wall Street" (NY Times):

On Monday, he said the nation was facing “the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression,” and attributed it on the hands-off policies of the Republican White House that, he says, Mr. McCain would continue. Seeking to showcase Mr. Obama’s concerns, his campaign said Mr. Obama led a conference call on the crisis early Monday that included Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve; Mr. Rubin; and his successor as treasury secretary, Lawrence H. Summers.

Later, citing Mr. McCain’s remarks about the economy’s strong fundamentals, he told a Colorado crowd that Mr. McCain “doesn’t get what’s happening between the mountain in Sedona where he lives and the corridors of power where he works.”

McCain: "Fundamentals of Economy are 'Strong' but 'Threatened'" (The Trail-WaPo's political blog-with video):

Sen. John McCain struggled Monday for a consistent economic message in the face of the weekend's Wall Street meltdown, saying first that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" and then abruptly shifting to say the fundamentals are "at great risk."

Dow Crashes: McCain Says Economy Is "Strong" (John Nichols-The Nation):

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong," declared the Republican presidential candidate.

Barack Obama replied with the best line of the day.

"What economy are you talking about?" the Democratic presidential candidate asked McCain.

Gary Hart: Obama Should Blame GOP for Economic Collapse (Ari Berman-The Nation):

"Obama's change message right now is, 'get rid of those who have mismanaged and put in people who will manage better.' He needs to wrap that up and step beyond it."

"This is transformational politics. He must lay the burden of this economic collapse at the feet of the whole Republican Party, where it belongs."

"Fundamentals" Ad (BarackObama.com-video):

Barack Obama