New York, Oct 1 : The failure of the House of Representatives to pass the 700 billion dollar plan to unclog the credit markets represented a colossal failure of American leadership -- not just by President Bush and the congressional leadership but also by the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees.

Washington, Sept 30 : The US presidential debate on foreign policy issues last Friday eliminated Republican nominee John McCain’s best chance of delivering a knockout punch to his rival Barack Obama, whose most important asset may be his capacity for self-correction.

McCain is supposed to have a command on foreign policy issues and he should have owned Friday’s debate. During their respective primary battles, McCain was a better debater than Obama, who could be hesitant, wordy and thrown off his stride, the Washington Post reports.

Colombia, Sept 30 : The first presidential debate of 2008, between John McCain and Barack Obama, reveals that most of the statements were positive.

A content analysis by a University of Missouri expert, reveals that 53 per cent of the statements in the September 26 debate were positive, followed by attacks (39 per cent) and defenses (9 percent).

The first debate of 2008 was a bit more negative than past elections’ debates, but not vastly more negative, according to Bill Benoit, MU Professor of Communication. Benoit also opined that the 1960 and 1976 and 2004 presidential debates were similar in tone: 57 per cent positive statements, 35 per cent attacks and 9 per cent defenses
(refutations of attacks).

Sydney - An Australian on Tuesday bet 50,000 Australian dollar

New York, Sept. 30: The latest FOX News/Rasmussen Reports indicate that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has increased his lead over Republican rival John McCain in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The candidates are within a single point of each other in three other battleground states -- Colorado, Florida and Ohio.

In Pennsylvania, Obama now leads by eight percentage points, 50 percent to 42 percent.

In Virginia, it's Obama 50 percent and McCain 47 percent.

Washington, Sept. 29 : Presidential candidates – Barack Obama and John McCain have both expressed cautious support for the 700 billion dollar bail out to end the meltdown on Wall Street.

McCain told ABC''s "This Week" program that he will "swallow hard and go forward" with the plan, adding "the option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option."