McCain: Home owners the victims of crisis

MANCHESTER, N.H., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain said Wednesday that the U.S. financial industry's collapse should have not happened.

The Arizona senator told CNN that mortgage crisis that has roiled the world's credit market "would not have happened" if he was president.

"Homeowners are the innocent bystanders in a drive-by shooting by Wall Street and Washington," McCain said in an interview from Manchester, N.H.

McCain also defended his vote in favor of the government's $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry despite his calls for cuts in government spending.

"Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary actions," he said.

To help bolster the national economy, McCain said he will consider a second economic stimulus package if he is elected president.