John McCain in Baltimore, Maryland, 21 Sep 2008

Leading U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama traded accusations over economic issues in campaign appearances Sunday.

Republican McCain criticized Obama - his Democratic counterpart - for not offering his own plan to stabilize financial markets. McCain told a Baltimore, Maryland, audience that Obama behaved more like a politician than a leader. McCain said Obama sought advantage for himself, but not for his country.

Obama said McCain's past support for deregulating financial institutions played a part in creating the economic crisis. Obama, speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina, said McCain wants to keep the U.S. economy headed down the same disastrous path.

Barack Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina, 21 Sep 2008

In separate interviews broadcast Sunday by the CNBC cable network, the two candidates agreed that the government should create an oversight system to monitor the expenditure of the $700 billion requested by the Bush administration to bail out ailing financial institutions.

Obama said the administration should not be handed a blank check.

McCain called for broad oversight of the bailout program and urged limits on executive pay at companies rescued by the federal government. McCain said no chief executive of a bailed-out company should make more than the highest-paid person in the federal government.

Obama and McCain will face each other Friday in Oxford, Mississippi, in the first debate of the general election.

Obama's campaign says he will clear his campaign schedule for several days this week to prepare for the debate.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.