Chicago, IL - Statement of Barack Obama on Financial Plan Breakthrough:

"The breakthrough between Congress and the Administration is the culmination of a sorry period in our history, in which reckless speculation and greed on Wall Street and lax oversight from Washington led to a meltdown of our financial markets. But regardless of how we got here, a failure to deal with the current crisis would have devastating consequences for our economy, costing millions of Americans their jobs and retirement security.

There's not a dime's worth of difference between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. The viewers of this first presidential "debate" missed the opportunity for a true debate because the viewpoints I represent were not raised.

This was clearly a debate between big government and bigger government. The proposals for spending taxpayers' hard-earned money for everything from bailing out Wall Street to bailing out Georgia (theirs, not ours) are simply irresponsible.

Independent Vice-Presidential Candidate Matt Gonzalez responded to last night's presidential debate Between John McCain and Barack Obama from Bill Maher's Los Angeles studio where his running mate Ralph Nader appeared.

Gonzalez described the candidates' performances as sounding like "cut and paste stump speeches" and criticized them for dodging questions on the $700 billion bailout bill and the Iraq war.

ARLINGTON, VA -- McCain-Palin 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker issued the following statement on tonight's Presidential Debate:

Chicago, IL - Below is a Statement from Senator Barack Obama on Washington Mutual

Chicago, IL -- "The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake.

"Now is a time to come together - Democrats and Republicans - in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush Administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney has offered to debate Barack Obama if John McCain's opts out at this Friday's presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi, following the Republican nominee's announcement that he is seeking a delay of the event.

"If John McCain wants to bow out, I'm willing to step in and take his podium on Friday," said Cynthia McKinney.

Published at the Huffington Post ...

In the name of restoring economic confidence, the Bush administration is demanding unlimited authority to implement a massive financial bailout. The Secretary of the Treasury would become an economic dictator, empowered to re-engineer the economy as he sees fit. These powers fit Kim Jong-il's North Korea, not the American republic.

Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez vigorously oppose Bush's $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street.

"This is not just a bailout of Wall Street" says Nader, "It's a bailing out of the bankrupt Republican and Democratic policies that have led us to where we are today with Senators John "Deregulation" McCain and Joe "MBNA" Biden leading the way.

Full Statement from Ralph Nader:

Today at 4 p.m., Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will meet with other Congressional leaders and President Bush to join the stampede to bail out Wall Street with Main Street and Elm Street's money.

Atlanta, GA – "Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin should read the platform of their own party before making a plan to deal with this most recent financial crisis," says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president.

"The GOP platform clearly states that it is opposed to government bailouts and market regulation," explains Barr. "However, McCain and Palin are in favor of the bailouts if they come with market regulation. Apparently, being a 'maverick' means favoring 'big government.'"