New York, Sept. 22: Seeking to distance himself from President George W Bush in the run-up to the November 4 presidential poll, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has accused him and his administration of failing to arrest the meltdown on Wall Street.

"I say the Bush administration has failed," McCain said on "60 Minutes" after agreeing that he placed "a great deal" of responsibility on the President for the financial meltdown,” the New York Daily News quoted McCain, as saying.

Washington- President George W Bush said Saturday that bold action was needed to bailout US financial institutions and prevent a broader economic collapse.

The Bush administration, seeking to head off the country's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929, moved this week to soak up the brunt of banks' mortgage-related assets, back money market mutual funds, curb certain stock-trading techniques and make more money available for loans to consumers.

Washington- US President George W Bush on Saturday urged Congress to approve a long standing free trade agreement with Colombia, warning a failure to do so could encourage populist Latin American leaders pursuing anti-US policies.

"If this agreement were not to pass it would embolden voices of populism in the neighbourhood to the detriment of a government that has been very strong," Bush said at a White House meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a close US ally in South America.

London, Sept. 20: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Daily Show last night that his decision to send British troops into Iraq and Afghanistan, had a lot to do with his equation with U. S. President George W Bush.

When interviewer Jon Stewart, said to Blair: "Your relationship with George Bush seems inexplicable," Blair replied: "Here's something I find always goes down well, particularly back home: I like him."

Stewart retorted: "I would probably like him too, if he wasn't in charge of me."

Washington - US President George W Bush Fridady pledged that the US government will tackle the root of the financial turmoil through a massive intervention that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Bush said a comprehensive plan was crucial to keeping the financial sector from total collapse and freezing the availability of credit to US consumers.

"The American economy is facing unprecedented challenges. We are responding with unprecedented action," Bush said in remarks broadcast from the White House.

Washington- US President George W Bush on Thursday defended the "extraordinary measures" taken by the government to address a growing financial crisis in the past week, but warned the danger was not yet over.

Speaking after an emergency White House meeting with his economic advisors, Bush promised the government would continue taking necessary actions "to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence."