Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain got a jump on rival Barack Obama in addressing the Wall Street crisis yesterday, though the Republican presidential candidate may have caused himself political trouble by saying ``the fundamentals of our economy are strong.''

While Obama's Democratic campaign was first with a written statement about the bankruptcy at Lehman Brothers Inc. and the takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co., McCain was on camera by around 9 a.m., in time for morning television news programs. ``We will clean up Wall Street,'' McCain, 72, told supporters in Florida.

About the same time, McCain and running mate Sarah Palin released a TV ad, with shots of the Lehman Brothers and New York Stock Exchange emblems, saying that ``our economy is in crisis'' and that ``only proven reformers McCain and Palin can fix it.''

Obama, who was flying to Colorado yesterday morning, didn't speak publicly about the brokerage crisis until almost five hours after McCain's appearance. The Illinois senator, 47, blamed the Republican ``economic philosophy'' of McCain and President George W. Bush for the troubled economy.

``It's the same philosophy we've had the last eight years, one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else,'' Obama said in Grand Junction.

Obama Counterattack

McCain's speedy response provoked a counterattack, after the Arizona senator told Florida voters that, while ``people are frightened'' during ``very, very difficult'' times, ``the fundamentals of our economy are strong.''

Even as Obama was airborne, his campaign pounced on McCain's comment as evidence the Republican is ``out of touch,'' on a day the Standard & Poor's 500 Index would suffer its biggest drop since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

``Senator McCain, what economy are you talking about?'' Obama said after landing in Colorado. ``What's more fundamental than the ability to find a job that pays the bills and that can raise a family?''

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden poked fun at McCain yesterday in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan.

``Ladies and gentlemen, I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn't run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well, unless I ran into John McCain,'' Biden said.

Obama's campaign rolled out its own TV commercial this morning, criticizing McCain's comment on the economy. ``How can John McCain fix our economy, if he doesn't understand it's broken?'' the ad asks.

American Workers

McCain expanded on his remarks at a campaign appearance yesterday, saying he believes that the economy's fundamental strengths include the quality of the American worker, and the strength of American innovation and entrepreneurism.

McCain's campaign also pointed reporters to remarks by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Politico.com: ``I do agree that fundamentally America has an economy that is strong,'' said Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Both candidates proposed changing federal regulation of financial institutions, though neither provided specifics. Obama repeated a long-standing call to ``modernize'' regulations.

Obama said that regulation of Wall Street needs to ``catch up'' with changes in financial markets, and investors can't expect taxpayers to bail them out in bad times. ``The idea that taxpayers can continue to be on the hook for failures at firm after firm after firm I think is a real problem,'' he said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Denver last night.

`Patchwork Quilt'

McCain promised to ``replace the outdated, patchwork quilt of regulatory oversight.'' During his 26-year career in Congress, McCain has generally supported proposals to cut, not increase, federal financial regulations.

In 1999, McCain voted in favor of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley banking deregulation act that let commercial banks and investment firms merge for the first time since the Great Depression. And, while he supported the Bush administration's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, McCain says he wants to sell the mortgage finance companies to private buyers.

Obama's campaign said the lawmaker called last year for stricter federal oversight, deflecting questions about whether the Democratic nominee was harmed by McCain's early response.

Finding a Camera

``Barack Obama spoke first about this issue when he spoke a year and a half ago warning about the problems we are facing today,'' Obama economic adviser Jason Furman said in an interview. ``John McCain waited a year and a half after it was obvious there would be a crisis and then managed to find a camera slightly earlier in the day.''

While Obama has a record of pushing for tougher regulations, he also has ties to Wall Street. Some of his top fundraisers come from financial companies and he has benefited from contributions from investment bankers.

Employees of Lehman Brothers have been among the most- generous donors to both Obama and McCain, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. They've given $370,524 to Obama through July 31, making the company's employees and their families his 10th biggest source of campaign cash. They were McCain's 15th largest contributor, giving $117,500.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kristin Jensen in Chicago at kjensen@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: September 16, 2008 10:04 EDT