The bewildering turmoil has shaken Americans' confidence, erased hundreds of billions of paper wealth for U.S. stockholders and led McCain and Obama to forsake other controversies and scramble back to the economy as the primary concern of voters.

The presidential campaign had taken an odd turn to side issues--- Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" and moose-hunting, Obama's crack about lipstick on a pi-- - after McCain's surprise pick of Alaska Gov. Palin as his running mate. There was a fascination with huge crowds attracted by Palin. But the collapse and merger of some of Wall Street's legendary companies forced a return to reality seven weeks before the election.

What do the voters think?

McCain and Obama now are trusted equally on the economy, with 34 percent of voters naming each as the candidate who would do a better job dealing with what is easily the country's top worry, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll conducted last week. Previously, Obama had had a solid advantage on the issue.

McCain wasn't sticking to economics on Tuesday. His comments grew more personal as the day wore on.

He criticized the Illinois senator for taking donations from executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie M--c - the mortgage giants taken over by the government last w--ek - and for putting former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson in charge of his vice presidential search. The Arizona senator also chastised Obama for missing an economic stimulus vote, even though McCain himself missed a vote — and the possibility of breaking a Senate tie — a day earlier on a broader package. Obama voted for that package.

... contd.