Top McCain aides have recently admitted to trying to steer the campaign’s focus away from the economy. In an interview with the New York Daily News, an unnamed McCain strategist said, “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose.” And on Saturday, McCain adviser Grep Strimple told the Washington Post, “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing [Obama’s] aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans.” On Monday, Obama responded during a campaign stop in Asheville, North Carolina.

Sen. Barack Obama: “I was a little surprised over the past couple of days to hear Senator McCain say, or Senator McCain’s campaign say, that we want to turn the page on discussions about the economy and a campaign — a member of Senator McCain’s campaign saying today that if we keep on talking about the economic crisis, we’ll lose. I’ve got news for the McCain campaign, the American people are losing right now. They’re losing their jobs, they’re losing their healthcare, they’re losing their homes, they’re losing their savings. I cannot imagine anything more important to talk about than the economic crisis.”

McCain, meanwhile, was in New Mexico. He accused Obama of failing to respond to the economic crisis.

Sen. John McCain: “Even after he refused to lift a finger to prevent this crisis, when the crisis hit, he was missing in action. He didn’t even start making calls to round up votes until after the rescue bill failed in the House and the markets crashed. We continue to see the price of delay today as the markets continue to fall. Today, the Dow has fallen below 10,000, and yet members of his own party said they felt no pressure to vote for the bill. Why didn’t Senator Obama work to pass this bill from the start? Why did he let it fail and drag out this crisis for a full week before doing a thing to help pass it?”