BLAINE, Minn. -- John McCain's Minnesota visit Friday was one part traditional campaign rally and one part economy rescue proposal, with a strong emphasis on the latter.
In a short and somber speech to thousands in a northern Twin Cities suburban airplane hangar, McCain laid out a plan he said would help repair economic problems that have dominated the news -- and the presidential campaign -- this week.
For one thing, the Republican presidential candidate wants to establish a federal agency to deal with the mortgage crisis and other financial institutions' problems. He also seeks to open the dealings of financial institutions to greater public scrutiny.
He announced his plan in speeches in Blaine, a suburb full of independent-minded voters, and Green Bay, Wis.
The rally, which campaign organizers said attracted 13,000 people, was more subdued than most rallies because the Arizona senator's 16-minute speech mostly was about the country's economic woes.
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Accompanying McCain, and drawing a large response, was his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She ventured into territory other than the economy, beginning with foreign affairs, where Democrats say she lacks experience.
Friday's rally came near the end of a week in which both McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama emphasized the economy.
McCain called for formation of what he called the Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust, an agency to be "an early intervention mechanism that will help financial institutions avoid bankruptcy and expensive bailouts." It would protect both the institutions and their customers, McCain said, by taking over troubled loans.
McCain said he warned two years ago that trouble was afoot.
"The financial crisis we're living through today started with the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system," McCain said. "At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," two major mortgage holders.
"Congress did nothing," McCain added. "The administration did nothing. Sen. Obama did nothing."
McCain, a 26-year Senate veteran, said Obama has not worked to change the system like he has.
"People like Sen. Obama have been too busy gaming the system and haven't ever done a thing to actually challenge the system," McCain said.
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Don Davis works for Forum Communications, which owns the Duluth News Tribune.
