The presidential race, having crashed full tilt into America’s financial tumult, must now grind gears, rev up engines and begin all over again. It is too late to fasten seatbelts.

John McCain’s dramatic intervention last week into negotiations about the Wall Street bailout has been criticised as reckless and damaging. Even some Republicans conceded that he contributed to days of dizzying disarray in Washington culminating in the rejection of the bailout.

Yesterday his campaign did its best to blame the Democrats and, in particular, the semidetached attitude of Barack Obama who “failed to lead, phoned it in, attacked John McCain, and refused to even say if he supported the final Bill”.

The Republican nominee gave a preview of such defiance an hour before the vote, while seeking to take credit for the expected passage of the Bill through Congress.

“I put my campaign on hold for a couple of days last week to fight for a rescue plan that put you and your economic security first,” he told a raucous rally in Ohio. “I believe our leaders belong in the arena when our country faces a challenge. I’ve never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people and I’m not going to stop now.”

He claimed that Mr Obama “at first didn’t want to get involved” and was merely “monitoring the situation”. Mr McCain added: “That’s not leadership – that’s watching from the sidelines.”

The Obama campaign said that the “angry and hyper-partisan” words of Mr McCain “are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington”.

Polls suggested that the Democratic nominee’s cautious, cerebral reaction has helped propel him to an average lead of 4.6 per cent in recent surveys and a lengthening lead on economic issues.

Speaking at a rally in Denver yesterday, Mr Obama had to abandon prepared remarks praising the passage of the Bill. Instead, he declared: “Democrats and Republicans need to step up to the plate and get it done.”

He expressed confidence that the bailout would still get through Congress and urged markets to stay calm, even though “it’s going to be a little rocky”. Mr Obama likened his rival to “a bet we can’t afford”.

The blame game that was being played out in Washington served as a reminder that neither Mr McCain nor Mr Obama are in complete control of their parties – or the only politicians facing the voters in November.

The fissures run deepest through Republicans however, with conservatives who voted against the Bill far from enamoured with their nominee and, perhaps, looking to save their skins in looming congressional elections. Mr McCain, speaking after flying to Iowa, preferred to point the finger elsewhere, saying: “Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process.”

Both presidential candidates are expected to be in the Senate tomorrow for a vote on the bailout, when they will once again be rubbernecking the carnage in Capitol Hill.

The Republican nominee must also worry about the prospects of his running-mate, Sarah Palin, in her debate against Joe Biden on Thursday. She was heading to two days of rehearsals at the ranch of Mr McCain in Sedona, Arizona, with the campaign’s top strategists.

Mitt Romney, who was overlooked for the vice-presidential nomination, reflected growing concern about her faltering appearances by suggesting that the campaign was misusing her talents.

The satirical Saturday Night Live show ridiculed the disastrous performance of Mrs Palin in a TV interview, showing her answering one question by saying: “I’d like to use one of my lifelines . . . I want to phone a friend.”

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