McCain now says economy in crisis

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- John McCain, criticized for comments on the U.S. economy's strength as Wall Street reeled, says he understands voters' concerns about the financial crisis.

The Republican Party nominee for president spent Tuesday trying to assure voters he understood how concerned Americans are about the economy and accused his Democratic rival of trying to use the chaos on Wall Street for political gain, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

"Too many people on Wall Street have been recklessly wagering instead of making the sound investments we expected of them," McCain said at a rally in Tampa, Fla., before he traveled to Ohio for an event with running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Obama, meanwhile, said McCain scoffed at the Wall Street regulations he now says he supports, introducing television ads that mock the statement McCain's made Monday that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" as Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was sold, AIG insurance company foundered and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 500 points.

In Ohio, McCain said Obama "is not interested in the politics of hope. He's interested in his political future."

The McCain campaign aired its own ad Tuesday, saying the U.S. economy was in crisis.

When asked in an interview with CBS whether the economy was fundamentally sound as he said Monday or in crisis as in his ad, McCain responded, "Well, the economy's in crisis."