McCain promises finance regulatory reform

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Republican presidential nominee John McCain said Monday the Wall Street crisis is "frightening" and promised to "never put America in this position again."

During a campaign appearance Monday in Jacksonville, Fla., the U.S. senator from Arizona blasted the regulatory policies of the Bush administration without mentioning U.S. President George Bush by name, saying they were "outdated," The Miami Herald reported.

"People are frightened by these events," he told a crowd of 3,000 supporters at the Jacksonville Veteran's Arena on the first leg of two-day tour through the key election battleground state. "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong but these are very, very difficult times. I promise you we will never put America in this position again."

World financial markets shuddered Monday as investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy due to its debt exposure in the reeling U.S. mortgage sector.

McCain said he would reform regulatory agencies to "protect the deposits of hard-working Americans," adding that he said he would oppose any attempt to rely on taxpayers to bail out the troubled system, the Herald reported.