Democrats Knock McCain's Economic Views

Obama blamed the turmoil in the subprime market on the deregulation of financial institutions, which he said was "aided by a legal but corrupt bargain" between Washington lobbyists and lawmakers. "In doing so," he said, "we encouraged a winner-take-all, anything-goes environment that helped foster devastating dislocations in our economy."

He also set out a series of principles for stiffer federal oversight of financial markets and institutions. "The American economy does not stand still and neither should the rules that govern it," he said. "The evolution of industries often warrants regulatory reform -- to foster competition, lower prices or replace outdated oversight structures. Old institutions cannot adequately oversee new practices. Old rules may not fit the roads where our economy is leading."

In North Carolina, Clinton set out an agenda for workers who are laid off from their jobs, proposing additional funding for training jobs and Pell Grants that can help for retraining for a new position. McCain and Obama have both proposed similar ideas.

Earlier in the week, Clinton proposed giving cities and states $30 billion to help people who can no longer afford their mortgages. Clinton and Obama have argued that since the government spent that much money on a Wall Street firm, it should also spend at least that on low- and middle-income homeowners who need help.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's top economic adviser, derided this approach as "throwing money at problems." But he associated McCain with some of the ideas Obama put forth yesterday on financial regulation, even though McCain had warned Tuesday against undue governance.

"They are wonderful words and they are words that you could hear out of a Republican or a Democrat," he said of the Obama speech. "I don't think there is any grand disagreement about the need for effective regulation. The bottom line that Senator Obama came up with is what Senator John McCain said on Tuesday."

That apparent moment of agreement prompted one more rejoinder from Obama's campaign. McCain, said Obama spokesman Bill Burton, was attempting "a do-over" on his Tuesday speech, one that he argued still fell short of what is needed to help struggling families.

Staff writers Alec MacGillis and Krissah Williams contributed to this report.