Wall Street meltdown, a major worry for McCain

Washington, Sept.17 : Arizona Senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a major problem on his hands, and that is how to neutralize the political and the economic impact of the meltdown on Wall Street.

According to the Washington Post, McCain may not have single-handedly created this problem, but he has made it worse by uttering the words -- "the fundamentals of our economy are strong".

This, without doubt, is a clear evidence of a badly delivered statement.

The message coming out from the Republican camp on the economy is mixed.

McCain is promising to ride into town to . . . oversee the creation of a commission to study the problem. He is speaking out in favor of regulation but against a history of opposing a heavy government hand.

"In many ways, the opening provided to Obama by McCain's verbal misstep is the least of his problems. What should worry the McCain camp most is the intersection of a renewed focus on the economy and the underlying political climate that has created such difficulties for McCain and his party all year," says the paper. McCain's advisers have noted for months that the political environment could hardly be worse for their candidate. Combine that with the economic indicators, and there is a political tragedy waiting to happen.

"Nothing in all of that is good for John McCain's hopes of winning the White House. This remains as competitive a race as many had forecast. National polls are tight. Battleground states are tight. But the underlying structure that has governed this campaign from the start has not improved. That is the real fundamentals problem for John McCain," concludes the paper.

ANI