Aides to Senator McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, said it was too soon to say whether he would oppose the plan being hashed out by the Bush administration and Congress, noting that the final details had yet to be presented. But Mr. McCain repeated his calls to add several provisions that the administration has opposed, including a guarantee that taxpayer money would not be used to enrich the executives of failing companies.

While Congressional leaders in both chambers said they were confident that they could reach a quick deal, it was also clear that Bush administration officials would face rough questioning and that initial support for the bailout had begun to fray. Some Democrats said they simply did not trust the president. Conservative Republicans also expressed outrage, echoing scornful comments by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Lou Dobbs, the right-leaning CNN anchor.

The Republican presidential candidate says he will work with the Rudd Government to establish a global framework that would encourage China and India to become part of the solution to man-made climate change. Senator McCain says he is committed to a market-based cap-and-trade system aimed at reducing carbon emissions. And he wants a closer bilateral partnership on other key issues such as nuclear proliferation, trade liberalisation and combating terrorism.

Senator Barack Obama significantly outspent Senator John McCain in August as the two campaigns ramped up their general election fight, with the Obama campaign spending $53 million that month, $32 million of which went to advertising. That compared with the $41 million spent by the McCain campaign, $23 million of which went to advertising.

Incensed by Republican advertisements critical of Senator Barack Obama, several current and former executives came forward to discuss the role that Rick Davis, Senator John McCain’s campaign manager and longtime adviser, played in helping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beat back regulatory challenges when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000.

John McCain and Barack Obama have made it clear that they would pick very different kinds of justices. The results could be particularly dramatic under Mr. McCain, who is likely to complete President Bush’s campaign to make the court an aggressive right-wing force.

The main thrust of the McCain campaign has been to cover up his history of economic malpractice. Senator McCain has largely pulled it off so far, under the guidance of Steve Schmidt, a Karl Rove protégé. A Rovian political strategy by definition means all slime, all the time. But the more crucial Rove game plan is to envelop the entire presidential race in a thick fog of truthiness.

Propelled by discontent at Republican handling of the economy in light of the financial crisis, Senator Obama matched his record high of 50 percent in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll, against 44 percent for Senator McCain. Meanwhile, Mr. McCain tried to blame the turmoil on fraud at US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It turns out that the Republican enthusiasm for Sarah Palin is just as superficial as she is. They were so eager for someone to cheer for (because they really don’t like John McCain) that they dove face first into the Palin mirage. But, on the issues, even they worry about her.

After a week of economic turmoil and his damaging remark on Monday that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” Senator McCain aggressively sought to regain his footing. Battling to distance himself from the Bush administration and blame for the economic instability, Mr. McCain also called for the firing of SEC chief Christopher Cox.