Washington, Sept. 19 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama scathingly attacked Republican rival John McCain over the economy on Thursday, and suggested that the latter was "ranting" as the national financial crisis continues.

Obama mocked McCain for saying, earlier in the day, that he wanted to fire the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Don''t just get rid of one guy. Get rid of this bureaucracy," the Washington Post quoted Obama, as saying.

By favoring both greater regulation and less, Obama said, McCain "can''t decide whether he''s Barry Goldwater or Dennis Kucinich."

"On Monday, he said the economy was fundamentally sound -- and he was fundamentally wrong. On Tuesday, he said the government should stand by and allow one of the nation''s largest insurers to collapse, putting the well-being of millions of Americans at risk. But by Wednesday, he changed his mind," Obama said.

"Well, I have a message for Senator McCain: You can''t just run away from your long-held views or your life-long record. You can''t erase twenty-six years of support for the very policies and people who helped bring on this disaster with one week of rants."

Obama is planning to roll out a new set of economic policies on Friday, with three goals: providing capital to the financial system; providing liquidity to allow the financial markets to function; and devising a plan to help struggling homeowners restructure their mortgages so they do not have their houses foreclosed on. (ANI)