Obama confronts US economic 'emergency'

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

WASHINGTON, (AFP) — White House contender Barack Obama said Monday the faltering US economy was now in the grip of an "emergency" as he pivoted back to the domestic agenda after a triumphant foreign tour.

In a meeting with a high-powered panel of economic advisers, the Democrat returned to the most pressing anxiety of US voters after bidding to cement his commander-in-chief credentials with his overseas trip .

But as voters reel from job losses, home seizures and rocketing fuel prices, the rival campaign of Republican John McCain said Obama's economic plan would serve only to plunge the United States into a 1930s-style depression.

After a federal stimulus plan and a newly passed bill to rescue the stricken housing market, Obama told the advisory meeting: "I...