Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain said congressional leaders and administration officials haven't yet settled on a financial- markets rescue plan, though both say they are hopeful a deal can be struck soon.

``I think eventually we're going to get a deal. There's still some work that needs to be done,'' Obama said in an interview on CNN.

He and McCain were interviewed on network news programs after they met at the White House with President George W. Bush and congressional leaders to discuss the government's $700 billion plan to stabilize markets.

``I am confident that we will reach an agreement that gets a majority of my colleagues on my side of the aisle as well as a majority on the other side,'' McCain said on CBS.

He also said it may be possible to reach an accord by tomorrow, in time to go forward with a scheduled debate with Obama at the University of Mississippi.

The White House session took place hours after lawmakers announced they had reached a tentative accord. At the end, Democrats said the plan faced new hurdles.

``Something happened in the intervening hours,'' Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, said. Some Republicans, primarily in the House of Representatives, raised new issues, he said.

Republican McCain, an Arizona senator, said some members of Congress have raised objections over the cost and breadth of the plan.

``This is the biggest thing of its kind obviously in history,'' McCain said on ABC. ``They have legitimate concerns, some of those have already been satisfied such as accountability and oversight board, CEO executive pay.''

McCain said that the White House meeting ``was important to move the process along.''

Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the banking panel's ranking Republican and an opponent of the bailout, emerged from the White House meeting to tell reporters he didn't think there is an agreement yet.

``This is not the best way,'' Shelby said. ``We ought to look at alternatives.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Washington at Jgoldman6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 25, 2008 18:55 EDT