The McCain campaign said obama has failed to show leadership during the economic crisis. (Getty Images)
(CNN) - John McCain's campaign is seizing on the prepared text of Barack Obama's speech Monday in Denver, saying it shows the Illinois senator has been "out of touch" with the unfolding financial crisis and congress' economic bailout plan. (Read the prepared text [PDF])
In the text distributed by the Obama campaign Tuesday morning, Obama was to say, "And today, Democrats and Republicans in Washington have agreed on an emergency rescue plan."
But moments before Obama was set to take the stage in Denver, the House officially rejected the bailout plan, prompting a delay in the Illinois senator's rally and a change in his comments on the bill:
"I am confident we are going to get there but it's going to be sort of rocky. It's sort of like flying into Denver. You know you're going to land but it's not always fun going over those mountains," he said.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds suggested the fact the Obama thought the measure would pass was a sign the Illinois senator was not closely involved in helping coral support for the bailout plan.
"When Barack Obama released remarks today that praised the passage of America's economic rescue plan, just before his allies in Congress voted to kill it, it revealed just how out of touch Barack Obama has been during this crisis," Bounds said, adding Obama has "shown failed leadership we can't afford."
In his own rally Monday morning before the House officially rejected the bailout plan, McCain did not suggest the bill would pass but touted his role pushing members of his party to vote for it.
"I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I'm not going to stop now," he said. "Sen. Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was monitoring the situation."
The McCain campaign also suggested Thursday Obama deserved much of the blame for the bill's failure, saying the Democratic presidential nominee "put politics ahead of country."
Obama spokesman Bill Burton called those comments "angry and hyper-partisan."
The Statement: At a campaign rally Monday, September 29, in Denver, Colorado, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama once again charged his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, with being a supporter of deregulating financial markets that have since collapsed. "He's fought against common-sense regulations for decades ... and he said in a recent interview that he thought deregulation has actually helped grow our economy. Senator, what economy are you talking about?" Obama said.
Watch: McCain, GOP have failed economic philosophy, Obama says
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(CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama expressed confidence Monday that lawmakers would come through with a financial rescue package, while John McCain's campaign accused Obama and Democrats of putting "politics ahead of country."
Obama told voters at a campaign event in Denver, Colorado, that it's important to "stay calm, because things are never smooth in Congress."
"There are going to be some bumps and trials and tribulations and ups and downs before we get this rescue package done," he said. "I'm confident that we are going to get there, but it's going to be a little rocky."
Shortly before Obama's event, the House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion plan to bail out the financial system, putting a roadblock in front of the largest government intervention in the market since the Great Depression.
Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the failure of the bill, which President Bush had urged Congress to approve.
(CNN) – An African-American congressman from Florida is apologizing for his comment that black and Jewish voters should not support Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin because "anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks."
"I regret the comments I made last Tuesday that were not smart and certainly not relevant to hunters or sportsmen," Rep. Alcee Hastings said in a statement issued Monday.
Last week, at a panel on the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats during the annual conference of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Hastings told attendees what he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the importance of supporting Sen. Obama in November's presidential election. "If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," Hastings said last week. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through," he added
All weekend we heard the phrase, "We're making progress." Today, we were assured that House leaders had the votes to pass this humongous bailout bill to save the economy from a meltdown. We should know better.
When the roll was called, the necessary votes were missing. Wall Street was like a yo-yo on a string. At one point, the Dow was down more than 700 points. And it all happened despite the efforts of John McCain to anoint himself the savior of the bailout package. It turns out members of McCain's own party balked at voting for the bailout in the house.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Rep. John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, says the chamber will not vote again Monday on a $700 billion plan to bailout the financial services sector, after it was dramatically defeated on the floor.
(CNN) – John McCain defended his decision to suspend his campaign last week to be on hand as Congress hammered out the details of the financial bailout plan that failed in a House vote Monday afternoon, telling an Ohio crowd that he left the campaign trail because he did not want to “simply phone it in.”
“I know that many of you have noticed, but it’s not my style to simply ‘phone it in.’ I am a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I believe our leaders belong ‘in the arena’ when our country faces a challenge,” said the Republican nominee. “I’ve never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I’m not going to stop now."
Over the weekend, both McCain and major supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham used similar language in describing the reason for his choice. “John didn’t phone this one in,” Graham told Fox News. “You can’t phone something like this in. Thank God John came back.”
Democrats responded by pointing to comments from top McCain advisor Mark Salter, who said that McCain had decided to spend his time at home or at his campaign headquarters instead of visiting Capitol Hill during marathon negotiations over the bailout bill over the weekend because “he’s calling members on both sides, talking to people in the administration, helping out as he can. …He can effectively do what he needs to do by phone,” said Salter.
The statement:At a campaign stop Monday in Columbus, Ohio, Sen. John McCain said Sen. Barack Obama "has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending."
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FULL POST
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The House of Representatives Monday rejected a $700 billion plan to bail out the financial system, putting a roadblock in front of the largest government intervention in the market since the Great Depression.
Watch: GOP blames Pelosi
Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the failure of the bill, which President Bush had urged Congress to approve.
Watch: GOP 'punished the country'
It was intended to reassure financial markets by giving the government the power to buy "illiquid assets" such as bad mortgages.
More from CNNMONEY.com
Watch: Gov. Sarah Palin talks about McCain's performance in Friday's debate and what can be expected from her on Thursday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNN) - Before hunkering down at John McCain's Arizona ranch for three days of debate boot camp, Sarah Palin used a Monday rally in Ohio to throw a few jabs at her Democratic counterpart, Sen. Joseph Biden.
She started by taking a swipe at Biden's age and 36-year tenure in the United States Senate.
"I do look forward to Thursday night and debating Sen. Joe Biden," Palin said while introducing John McCain at a rally here. "We are going to talk about those new ideas, new energy for America. I'm looking forward to meeting him too. I've never met him before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade."
Palin, 44, would have been eight years old when Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 at the age of 29. John McCain was 36.
Palin turned 18 in 1982, the year McCain was first elected to Congress at the age of 46. If elected, McCain, 72, would become the oldest president in United States history.
The Alaska governor has generally shied away from attacking Biden directly while on the trail, although she did use the "second grade" remark in an interview with Fox News two weeks ago. But Monday marked the first time she has openly engaged Biden in her stump speech.
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