Obama ahead in polls as debate looms

Five days from their first presidential debate, Democrat Barack Obama has climbed in the polls as Republican John McCain fumbled his response to a looming US economic cataclysm.

The US Congress and the administration of president George Bush are grappling with a proposed £389bn (€491.5bn) bailout plan to save the US economy from full collapse - feeding anxiety among voters who were already far more concerned about their financial futures than any other issue in the 2008 presidential campaign - including the intractable US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.