McCain tax-cut proposal

McCain tax-cut proposal

Republican John McCain on Tuesday proposed a $52.5 billion package of tax cuts aimed at cushioning the blow of stock-market losses for senior citizens, helping the unemployed and encouraging investment.

“What we need to see now is swift and bold action to lead this country in a new direction,” McCain told a crowd of about 1,000 at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa. He pledged “tax cuts that are directed specifically to create jobs and protect your life savings.”

The proposals come as McCain tries to make up ground he has lost to Democrat Barack Obama in both state and national polls during the economic turmoil of the last few weeks.

Obama backs bank plan

OREGON, Ohio — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama endorsed the federal government’s plan to invest $250 billion in the nation’s banks, saying it will strengthen the financial system and give taxpayers some extra protection.

“I think the idea of injecting capital directly into banks is a good one,” Obama said Tuesday while campaigning near Toledo. “It gives taxpayers a better chance of getting their money out. Potentially, it also gives the Treasury some more direct mechanisms to monitor and apply some ground rules to participating banks.”

Obama told reporters that he wants to see limits on the salaries of top executives at the banks that accept the money.

Third-party debate set

WASHINGTON — Third-party presidential candidates finally will have their own debate: at 8 p.m. Sunday at Columbia University in New York.

The debate, which will be announced today, will include at least three of the four third-party candidates — independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney and the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin. Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr said he has a scheduling conflict, but debate organizers say he wanted to appear only with Nader. (Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain are also invited.)

Combined dispatches