Wail Street

It's been a real roller-coaster on Wall Street this week, with the Dow having historic drops and recoveries on the news of the federal government having to bail out some of the oldest and largest American financial institutions.

Many are wailing in despair, wondering what will happen next. Politicians are all making promises, most of which are overly optimistic, and some of which are either outright lies or more signs that McCain "just doesn't get it".

John McCain (who has co-opted Obama's "change" message) said on Thursday that a top Bush administration official should be fired for failing to regulate Wall Street and allowing markets to be used as a casino. McCain's blunt call for the firing of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox allowed him to try to separate himself further from President George W. Bush at a time when Democrats want to portray McCain as a clone of the unpopular Republican leader.

It was also a bid to seize the initiative on the top issue for voters after Democratic rival Barack Obama accused McCain of being out of touch when he said this week the fundamentals of the reeling U.S. economy are strong.

"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view has betrayed the public's trust," McCain said. "If I were president today, I would fire him."

Problem is, Presidents do not have the authority to fire the SEC chairman.