US rivals in economy crisis talks

The two presidential candidates have called for bipartisan action

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are due to meet President George W Bush at the White House for emergency talks on the economy.

Mr Bush has warned that the entire economy is in danger, and that failure to act now would cost more later.

He has been pushing for Congress to pass a $700bn (£378bn) rescue package to bail-out the financial markets.

Mr McCain has suspended his campaign over the crisis, but Mr Obama says voters need to hear from candidates.

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The two men were scheduled to attend a meeting with administration officials and congressional representatives at 1400 GMT in an attempt to broker a mutually acceptable bail-out deal.

Later, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson - architect of the existing bail-out plan - will appear before a Congressional committee for a third successive day.

Debate concern

In a joint statement, the two presidential candidates described the Bush administration's planned bail-out plan as "flawed", but said efforts to protect the economy must not fail.

"This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe," they said.

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Meanwhile, the two rivals have disagreed on delaying a TV debate over the economic turmoil.

Mr McCain said he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to help agree a deal, saying he feared the rescue package would not pass "as it currently stands".

He also called for his first presidential debate with Mr Obama on Friday to be suspended - something Mr Obama did not support.

Americans needed to "hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess", Mr Obama told journalists.

Mr McCain stressed his desire to help Congress agree a viable deal in a speech on Thursday to the Clinton Global Initiative, a conference headed by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

Mr McCain insisted on clear oversight of any plan, and said no Wall Street executives should profit from the injection of public cash.

But he made no mention of Friday's planned presidential debate, instead praising Mr Obama's decision to join him in Washington to broker a deal.

"Poor decisions made in haste can turn a crisis into a far-reaching disaster," he said.

'Excesses on Wall Street'

Mr Bush made a televised address to the nation on the economy on Wednesday evening.

Major sectors of America's financial system were at risk of shutting down, he said, and without action a "distressing scenario" would unfold.

Congressional leaders have been besieged by questions

His administration is calling on Congress to approve the proposed bail-out - under which the Treasury would use public money to buy bad debt from troubled financial institutions - as soon as possible.

The fund would aim to sell off these mortgage-related debts in the future when, the Treasury says, their value might have risen.

But lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have voiced doubts about the plan and the speed at which they are being asked to approve it.

Many have been overwhelmed by the volume of e-mail correspondence from voters concerned about the potential use of public funding to fix problems caused by bad corporate practice on Wall Street

Lawmakers want assurances that it will benefit home-owners as well as Wall Street, and be subject to adequate oversight.

"This makes me angry," House minority leader John Boehner, a Republican, said on Wednesday night.

"I think it makes the American people angry that their taxpayer money has to be put at risk."

Mr Bush said he understood the frustration of "responsible Americans" who "are reluctant to pay the costs of excesses on Wall Street".

"But given the situation we're facing, not passing a bill now will cost these Americans much more later," he said, calling for a bipartisan commission to oversee the plan.