[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/16/art.mccainam.cnn.jpg caption="McCain appeared on CNN's American Morning Tuesday."](CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain continued to back away from his assertion that the "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" during a CNN interview Tuesday.
Watch McCain on American Morning
On Monday, after taking heat from Sen. Barack Obama's campaign for his earlier statement, McCain adjusted his language to say the American worker was the strength of the economy.
Watch: McCain's economy comment hammered
On Tuesday, McCain said the U.S. economy will rebound with the help of the American worker, which he called "the fundamental strength" of the U.S. economy.
The problems with the American economy are the result of rampant government spending and poor government checks on corporations, McCain said.
"I'll restrain spending. That's the reason our economy is in trouble today," McCain said.
McCain also said the U.S. is "the victim of greed, excess and corruption on Wall Street," and the senator said he foresaw the crises with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago.
"The Fannie and Freddie thing was a very serious problem and we had to work on it," McCain recalled saying then.
The regulatory agencies charged with monitoring Wall Street, which he called outdated, have been "asleep at the switch the last few years." Those agencies should evolve to the global economy, he said.
"We have to fix this alphabet soup of regulatory agencies that's left over from the 1930s," he said.
Asked if Obama's economic plan did more for the middle class than his own, McCain flatly said no. He also said one of the greatest hindrances to the middle class is its inability to get "affordable and available" health care.
This guy has no honor.
The past few weeks – with his sex ed for kindergarteners add – he has shown he is the one with the blind singular ambition to be president at any cost.
McCain: backtracking, misspeaking, distorting, lying, flip-flopping, waffling, misleading.
John McCain, more of the same.
Spin, baby, spin. It's no wonder McCain can't make a sensible statement. he's backing away and spinning at the same time. That would make anyone dizzy, let alone a senior citizen who's also trying to defend the blatant lies of his CHOICE for VP. He made his own (tanning) bed, now he doesn't want to lie in it.
maccain is a moron
This coming from a guy who says he's not good with economics saw the fannie/feddy collaspe coming two years ago? Please, does he really think were stupid. I also notice he not usng his fundamentals line anymore. The fact of the matter is mccain had 6 of Bush's and the republican congress' 8 years in which do something and our economy has been sliding the past five years. Now all of a sudden he sees it all brokemn and he can fix it. Again why trust a guy who says the economy is not his strong suit. If he didn't mean it why did he say it.why did he concede to fit his party's base. Some maverick he is .
Nice try McCain. This isn't the first time you've said that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong." You even said you don't know as much about the economy as you should back in Dec. 2007.
Everybody, vote for Obama.
Obama/Biden 2008/2012.
McCain has no idea of where our economy stands. I think Geroge gave him that quote to make him look like he cares.
I found it very destrubing watching John McCain on one of the cable channel this morning. This man has a bad temper. He was asked about his statement concering the economy. This man lit into the host of the show ( MEKA) as a new voter I was outragaged. I will never vote for someone out of control as he is.
Get some help Mr. McCain ANGER MANAGEMENT!
As I watched his interview this morning, I was not impressed with his evasive answers about the economy. Does it even make sense to say American workers are strong when there is no work to be found? Also, he was still talking about Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere" – I don't know why.
Yesterday, the dollar was up against the euro, and other foreign currency, even as our market drop 5+ percent..
McCain was all for his top economic advisor, Phil Gramm, who was the major pusher for deregulation. McCain voted for Gramms deregulation bills and now all of a sudden he says we need more regulation. What a liar.
The trickle down theory.....trickle this......I'm tired of getting peed on!
If McCain seen our countries collapsing situation some time back he did NOTHING to abate it. We can expect the same of him if Palin gets him to the white house. His words are full of bull and presently searching for methodology to justify his failures. His claims of success need to be challenged in the debates. As well as Palin's. The color of her lipstick should also be questioned.
It's not going to happen, he should bail out and let Palin take his place.
John could always go hide in one of his many homes.
LOL, when he says "the fundamentals of our economy are strong", there's a guy sitting behind him who turns his head to look at John. It's as if the guy is saying "Are you crazy".
Watch the tape, it's too funny.
Obama/Biden 08
I don't know what is wrong with Journalists these days, even CNN,msnbc,foxnews.. journalists and reporters. What happened to the time when we used to get facts from all reporters and journalists. now all media is letting US decide. we always hear two sides of a story.well..cnn what is the truth? Do you expect we, the citizens to do OUR OWN investigation? geez..all Journalists and reporters are OBLIGATED to tell us how THEY feel. stop giving us two sides of a story " "they said this and that but...their opponents said this and that" that's all you tell us.how about what's on your mind? how about some investigation for Truth. The news media cannot be trusted anymore.what a shame.
McCain was "angry" on MSNBC Morning Joe and Good Morning America....What's up with that? He did present himself as the old grumpy guy yelling at the kids to get off his lawn. Besides still saying if Obama had agreed to townhall meetings he would have used such slanderous ads....His temperment really needs an adjustment.
This guy is a fundamental liar. I heard his speech and he was not talking about the American worker. This war hero packages lies in a nice shiny box for the average misinformed American to open with pleasure.
Senator Mccain is out of touch with the American Worker.
He can change his words but that does not change what he really thinks.
Say anything to get a vote hey Senator Mccain.
Flip Flopping all the way to November .
Obama/Biden 08
another 'he never said it' he never meant it that way" another and another,,, how could he deal with China, Iran, Russia?
And people keep saying Biden goes off topic!!!???
You can twist like a Chinesse gymnist, but your still 14 years old.
To think The View can through off a presidential canidate shows how un-prepared he is for this job. While Obama has challanged himself by going onto Fox for interviews (and actually getting some good coverage from fox!), McCain-Palin RUN FROM THE MEDIA.
You can only run so far before you run off the cliff.
BTW – Remember when McCain said you need a sense of humor refering to his Celebrity ads in August? Now, his campaign has lost it's sense of humor and can't laugh at SNL!!!!!!! Does he know the differnce between parody and reality????
The republicans had 7 years to screw up our country and they've done an a great job.Four more years of the same will finish us off.We all know that this mess has been created by pure greed and put in place by 6 years of a Republican Congress.Enough is enough.Throw the bums out..a real change is a clean sweep of both Houses and the White House.These folks were never supposed to be in their positions for 20-30 years.We need to have term limits for a starter.
This just in. McCain's been backing up so much and so fast that he's developed a case of "knobaphobia". What's that? The fear of backing into a cold door know.
It's the economy, stupid and it's fundamentally unsound. This guy is clueless
McCain is a BIG JOKE! We are smarter than this, America. He will make all of us look like clowns! He insults us all with his "mumbo jumbo" –
As was pointed out by Paul Krugman, McCain is talking like Herbert Hoover, the Republican President who's ignorance and corruption helped drive the US into the Great Depression.
Of the all the people most responsible for the economic mess we are in, one of the top two is Phil "Nation of Whiners" Graham, McCains buddy and covert economic adviser.
If anyone could push this country into a Third-World type exploitative Plutocracy, it is Mr Graham.
America, if you are ignorant enough to put this man into power, you deserve what you get.
Did he really say the U.S. is "the victim of greed, excess and corruption on Wall Street"??? Him and his whining wife own 7 houses and we're the victims of greed? I think him and his wife's eyes were bigger than their stomachs because they definitely consumed more than they could handle. If he really saw this crisis coming...he should have warned his best pal BUSH to pay closer attention to avoid this crap. McCain and Palin make me want to vomit all over their campaign.