The Wall Street financial crisis seems to have dented Senator John McCain's lead in the polls in the US presidential election and would seem to favour Senator Barack Obama. The crisis has clearly shifted the focus of the election towards economic issues, away from foreign policy and political and social values that have dominated the election until now.
The crisis is 'good' for the Democrats because McCain has been portrayed as being out of touch with the everyday economic realities faced by ordinary Americans, and also because the Republican party has traditionally been linked to big business and the corporate sector.
The Democrats, for example, immediately seized on McCain's comment last Monday that the US economy remained "fundamentally strong" to show just how detached from reality the Republican candidate is. "When McCain said he thinks the fundamentals of our economy are strong, he underscored the fact that he doesn't have a clear grasp of the crisis facing the American middle class," Bill Burton, Obama's press secretary remarked.
Obama himself said he believes that the US will get through this crisis "because that's what we do as Americans", but added that he also knows that the crisis will not be solved if "we continue with the same policies as those of the last years" - a clear reference to the Bush administration and McCain.
McCain has tried hard to distance himself from what he calls 'Wall Street greed', and also to modify his comments about the strength of the US economy. He soon admitted that America was in a "crisis" and said: "I said the fundamental of our economy is the American worker. I know that the American worker is the strongest, the best, the most productive and most innovative. They have been betrayed by a casino on Wall Street of greed, corruption and excess that has damaged them and their futures. And we're going to fix it."
McCain promised to set up a bipartisan commission to study what went wrong in the banking sector and to propose what needs to be done to change it. However, if this crisis reinforces voters' desire for real change - the strongest thing going for the Democrats - then it is Obama who probably stands to gain, no matter how hard McCain distances himself from Wall Street.
The election campaign has now taken on a much more serious tone - the week before last, the two candidates spent time arguing about a joke cracked by Obama about lipstick on a pig - and economic issues will now probably dominate the rest of the campaign, which is a good thing because that there are some serious questions that need to be asked about the US economy.
Most opinion polls have shown Obama leading against McCain when it comes to economic issues, although both candidates have rather similar views on this crisis. They both want stricter regulations governing Wall Street, even though the Democrats point to McCain's past chairmanship of the Senate Commerce Committee - where he supported deregulation - to question his credibility over more regulation. However, McCain is still regarded by voters as a stronger leader and a more competent manager than Obama and this could be used to the Republican candidate's advantage in this crisis if marketed properly.
On the other hand, McCain must continue to distance himself from the Bush administration but also boost his economic credentials. He might be regarded as a strong leader but his competence in economic matters has been under scrutiny throughout the campaign. During the Republican primaries, for example, he admitted: "The issue of economics is not something I have understood as well as I should have". This statement will surely haunt him as the campaign progresses and the economy continues to play a prominent role.
There are still six weeks left for the presidential election, which can go either way. If the economy is the main consideration on election day, then voters will back the person who they believe is the most suited to bring about change on Wall Street, to manage an economic crisis, to bring about a change from the direction of the Bush administration and who can identify with the day-to-day concerns of ordinary Americans.
Voters will also want to know just what type of financial regulations the candidates are proposing. Both McCain and Obama feel comfortable talking about unemployment and tax cuts, but so far have been somewhat vague about their proposals regarding how they would regulate the financial sector. The candidate who manages that will surely be given a boost in November.