As Lehman Brothers announced its liquidation, Merrill Lynch was subsumed into the Bank of America, and the Dow Jones average dropped nearly 300 points when the market opened on Monday, September 15, the McCain campaign released an ad, "Crisis," focusing on the economy. The Obama campaign responded swiftly by posting news footage from the same day, September 15, of McCain saying that the fundamentals of the economy are "strong."

McCain ad "Crisis:"

Footage of McCain, posted by the Obama campaign in response to ad: