From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Wall Street, home foreclosures and the presidential campaign.

Hello again, I'm Oran Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Obama and Clinton have unveiled government rescue plans for homeowners at cost of about $30 billion.

McCain says it's not the duty of government to bail out and reward, but he supports the Federal Reserve's plan to lend banks and investment firms up to $400 billion.

On to the point, are the parties as different as the rhetoric makes them sound? Why is Wall Street contributing more to Obama and

Clinton than it is to McCain? Also today, President Bush says Iraq has reached a defining

moment. Air strikes in Basra and ground forces in Baghdad show increased U.S. involvement.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again. Warman Alney, back with To the Point. With the crisis on

Wall Street and home foreclosures soaring, does the U.S. economy need more government or less?

On To the Point, recent statements make Obama and Clinton seem far from McCain. Does the rhetoric reflect the reality?

We'll talk with all three campaigns. First, this news update. Yesterday, President Bush said Iraq was

returning to normalcy. Today, he conceded the situation is dangerous and fragile. I would say this is a

defining moment in the history of a free Iraq. There have been other defining moments up to now, say this is a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq.

There have been other defining moments up to now, but this is a defining moment as well.

The president's comments followed U.S. airstrikes in both the southern city of Basra

and a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad, where the government has declared a curfew through Sunday.

Larry Kapplau is reporting from Baghdad

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