McCain, Obama seek reform amid U.S. financial turmoil

By Jeff Mason

LAKE ORION, Mich. (Reuters) - John McCain called for an end to the "casino culture on Wall Street" and Barack Obama demanded protection for ordinary investors on Wednesday as financial markets stumbled again on news of a government bailout of a giant U.S. insurer.

The financial turmoil, the worst since the Great Depression, kept the U.S. economy at the forefront of the presidential campaign. Republican McCain, a longtime supporter of financial deregulation, joined Democrat Obama in demanding new rules to eliminate Wall Street permissiveness.

The Federal Reserve effectively took control of American International Group on Tuesday, the fourth huge firm the government has had to prop up in the continuing crisis over plummeting U.S. mortgage values.

"These actions stem from failed regulation, reckless management, and a casino culture on Wall Street that has crippled one of the most important companies in America," McCain said.

"We need strong and effective regulation, a return to job-creating growth and a restoration of ethics and the social contract between businesses and America," he added.

Obama used a two-minute advertisement to address the economy and call for ending "the 'anything goes' culture on Wall Street with real regulation that protects your investments and pensions."

Neither candidate for the Nov. 4 election clearly stated whether he supported the government bailout of AIG. McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America," "On the bailout itself, I didn't want to do that."

But then he added, "There were literally millions of people whose retirement, whose investments, whose insurance were at risk here, and they were going to have their lives destroyed because of the greed and excess and corruption."