Ad Roundup: Wall Street Crisis Prompts Slew of Ads From Obama and McCain

John McCain: “Foundation”
In another economy-themed ad, McCain speaks directly to voters, like Obama does in "Plan for Change." Unlike Obama's ad, "Foundation" is more hard-hitting and directly attacks Barack Obama, saying his "only solutions" to the economic crisis are "talk and taxes." McCain promises that he will "reform Wall Street and fix Washington" and establish economic security for American workers who are "the best in the world."

Barack Obama: “Fundamentals”
In this ad, Obama seizes on the comment McCain made regarding the financial crisis that he still thinks "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." The ad flashes messages about the recent crisis to illustrate its severity and then asks on the screen, "How can John McCain fix our economy if he doesn't understand it's broken?" The same day that the ad was released, Obama said at a rally in Colorado, "Senator McCain, what economy are you talking about?" McCain clarified his comment the morning after he said it at a rally in Florida, saying, "My opponents may disagree, but those fundamentals, the American worker and their innovation, their entrepreneurship, the small business, those are the fundamentals of America, and I think they're strong."

John McCain: “Advice”
In this ad, McCain attacks Obama on his connections to Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines. The ad cites a Washington Post article that says Raines advises Obama, who "has no background in economics," on "mortgage and housing policy." Under Raines, the ad also cites an article that says under Raines, Fannie Mae committed "extensive financial fraud" and made millions while Fannie Mae collapsed, leaving taxpayers "stuck with the bill." Raines has issued a response to the ad denying his involvement with the campaign: "I am not an adviser to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters," Raines said. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "This is another flat-out lie from a dishonorable campaign that is increasingly incapable of telling the truth. Frank Raines has never advised Senator Obama about anything—ever."

John McCain: “Jim Johnson”
This television ad from McCain's campaign criticizes Obama for his ties to former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson. "Fannie cooked the books, and Johnson made millions," the ad says. "Then Obama asked him to pick his VP and raise thousands for his campaign." The press release for the ad says that "while promising reforms, Barack Obama relies on those who walked away with millions in payments from institutions that are now costing the taxpayers billions." At a June press conference, Obama responded to questions about his choice of Johnson to head his VP search. Obama said, "Everybody, who is tangentially related to our campaign...is going to have a whole host of relationships...Jim Johnson has a very discrete task...and that is simply to gather up information about potential vice presidential candidates."