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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Wednesday that John McCain does have the experience needed to become a business executive, let alone the background needed to become president.

Romney's remarks, made on CNN, come a day after McCain aide Carly Fiorina said that neither McCain nor any of the other presidential or vice presidential candidates have the necessary business background to be a CEO.

"I think she's just misinformed in that regard," said Romney, who has been CEO of consulting firm Bain & Company and of the 2002 Winter Olympics. "I'd be happy to hire John McCain and Sarah Palin to run a business that I'm an investor in. But I can also tell you that when you compare John McCain with Barack Obama, it's a pretty, pretty clear comparison that John McCain has experience that's been, a lot of developed judgment that you need in a time like this."

Romney noted McCain's experience in the Senate, where he has served as Commerce Committee chairman.

"[T]hat has given him the kind of experience that allowed him to work with President Reagan, President Ford, President Clinton and so forth and fashion economic policy that frankly has allowed America to outgrow our European competitors, to create many tens of millions of jobs when they have it," Romney said. "And it's that kind of policy that's or experience that's allowed him to say you know what? Don't raise tax now, keep taxes down. Make sure that we trade with our countries and do what we have to do to become energy independent. Don't do what Barack Obama is saying, which is not allowing drilling offshore, not building a nuclear power plant."

Romney dismissed comparisons between his own vast business background and McCain's that he had made when running against McCain for the GOP presidential nomination .

"Well, I was trying to convince people that I was the right guy for the job and that just didn't work, as you know," Romney said. "In the current setting there's no question that John McCain has by far the most economic experience of any of the people that are either in the presidential or the vice presidential contest."

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) said that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) upcoming visit to the United Nations won't do much for her foreign policy credentials.

Palin is expected to visit the UN General Assembly and attend a protest Monday against the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will also be at the United Nations next week.

Emanuel, on MSNBC Tuesday, said: "To the notion that somehow if you brought Sarah Palin up to the U.N. to introduce her to people that was going to give her foreign policy credentials or a sense of the world, I think it only understates the fact is that Sen. [John] McCain in this moment of time in history has made a judgment call about a running mate that doesn't -- that in my view doesn't have the experience to be a part of this."

Emanuel, a backer of Barack Obama, added:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) personal Yahoo! e-mail account was hacked by a vigilante group of Internet users, the news and gossip website Gawker is reporting.

Gawker has screenshots purportedly snapped from Palin's account, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and is displaying images of e-mails allegedly sent by Palin on its site.

The send/receive list includes a Palin aide, and Gawker suggests Palin could have used her personal account to conduct state business, which could complicate public records requests. Read more...

Lilly Ledbetter, who took her gender pay discrimination case to the Supreme Court, endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday.

Ledbetter sued her former company, Goodyear, for discrimination, charging it with denying her raises because she was a woman. The Supreme Court decided against Ledbetter in a 5-to-4 decision, finding that she had waited too long to make her claim.

Obama's campaign used the endorsement, made during a forum with Michelle Obama in Richmond, Va., to highlight the Democrat's appeal to women voters.

"There is only one candidate who has stood up for women like me. Who has consistently fought to help women who are working hard every day for our families and aren't being paid fairly," Ledbetter said in a statement.

Ledbetter has been supportive of Democrats this election, speaking at the party's convention in Denver. Her case prompted Democrats to push for a law that would have changed the deadlines for filing a discrimination claim. The House passed the bill but it stalled due to Republican opposition in the Senate.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign, endorsed John McCain for president on Wednesday, suggesting that he has the experience that Barack Obama does not.

"In an election as important at this, we must choose the candidate who has a proven record of bipartisanship and reforming government, and that's John McCain," Rothschild said in a statement. "We can't afford a president who lacks experience and judgment and has never crossed party lines to work for meaningful reform. Amid tough economic times and foreign policy concerns, we need someone who is ready to lead. Although I am a Democrat, I recognize that it's more important to put country ahead of party and that's why I support John McCain."

Rothschild was also a member of the Democratic National Committee's platform committee. She had harsh words for Obama during a CNN interview in July.

"This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him," she said. "I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him."

Rothschild, also known as Lady de Rothschild, is a former corporate lawyer, CEO of her own international holding company and the wife of British banking magnate Sir Evelyn Rothschild.

John McCain called for more government regulation of the financial markets in the wake of the federal bailout of insurance giant AIG.

McCain, who has been a proponent of financial market deregulation in the past, blamed the recent financial crisis and the need for government intervention on "failed regulation" and a "casino culture" on Wall Street. His criticism of failed government policies is similar that of Barack Obama's. The Democrat, however, explicitly blamed President Bush and said that McCain was like his fellow Republican.

Read McCain's full statement below.

"Today, the government was forced to commit $85 billion to stop the collapse of AIG, another in a growing series of events that includes Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These actions stem from failed regulation, reckless management, and a casino culture on Wall Street that has crippled one of the most important companies in America. The focus of any such action should be to protect the millions of Americans who hold insurance policies, retirement plans and other accounts with AIG. We must not bailout the management and speculators who created this mess. They had months of warnings following the Bear Stearns debacle, and they failed to act.

"We should never again allow the United States to be in this position. We need strong and effective regulation, a return to job-creating growth and a restoration of ethics and the social contract between businesses and America. Important questions remain to be answered by Wall Street. Did executives mislead investors and regulators about the severity of the problem? We must investigate whether or not there was misrepresentation on part of the company executives. If there was, there must be penalties. We need to change the way Washington and Wall Street does business, and as President I will."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has asked two house committees to hold hearings examining the Bush administration's regulation of U.S. financial systems in light of today's federal buyout of Wall Street giant AIG.

"I have asked Chairman Barney Frank of the Financial Services Committee and Chairman Henry Waxman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold a series of hearings that will examine the Bush Administration

Barack Obama said Wednesday that the $85 billion bailout of insurance firm AIG is the "final verdict" on President Bush's "failed economic policy."

Obama also criticized John McCain for subscribing to Bush's philosophy, which Obama said dismisses the need for any regulation and favors special interests over working people.

Read Obama's statement below.

"The fact that we have reached a point where the Federal Reserve felt it had to take this unprecedented step with the American Insurance Group is the final verdict on the failed economic philosophy of the last eight years. While we do not know all the details of this arrangement, the Fed must ensure that the plan protects the families that count on insurance. It should bolster our economy's ability to create good-paying jobs and help working Americans pay their bills and save their money. It must not bail out the shareholders or management of AIG.

"This crisis serves as a stark reminder of the failures of crony capitalism and an economic philosophy that sees any regulation at all as unwise and unnecessary. It

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said that the decision to bailout insurance giant AIG with a $85 billion federal loan shows that the financial crisis is worsening.

Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, also blamed the crisis on Bush administration policies. He called on federal officials to answer how the bailout will affect taxpayers and to lay out their plan to steady the economy.

"I appreciate Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson informing me of their decision regarding AIG. This decision is a clear sign that the financial crisis

Below is the Federal Reserve Board's statement Tuesday announcing the $85 billion loan to rescue insurance giant American International Group.

The Fed explains that the bailout stemmed from a concern over more "market fragility," "higher borrowing costs" and "reduced household wealth." The statement also says that taxpayers will be protected, with AIG's assets serving as collateral.

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday, with the full support of the Treasury Department, authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend up to $85 billion to the American International Group (AIG) under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. The secured loan has terms and conditions designed to protect the interests of the U.S. government and taxpayers.

The Board determined that, in current circumstances, a disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance.

The purpose of this liquidity facility is to assist AIG in meeting its obligations as they come due. This loan will facilitate a process under which AIG will sell certain of its businesses in an orderly manner, with the least possible disruption to the overall economy.

The AIG facility has a 24-month term. Interest will accrue on the outstanding balance at a rate of three-month Libor plus 850 basis points. AIG will be permitted to draw up to $85 billion under the facility.

The interests of taxpayers are protected by key terms of the loan. The loan is collateralized by all the assets of AIG, and of its primary non-regulated subsidiaries. These assets include the stock of substantially all of the regulated subsidiaries. The loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the firm's assets. The U.S. government will receive a 79.9 percent equity interest in AIG and has the right to veto the payment of dividends to common and preferred shareholders.