Monday was quite the day for economy-themed sound bites from the major political parties’ presidential campaigns. A drop in the Dow Jones industrials of more than 500 points — the biggest slide since the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks — the reported largest bankruptcy in U.S. history (Lehman Brothers) and Bank of America’s buyout of Merrill Lynch will do that.

Unfortunately, all we got were sound bites.

According to the Associated Press, by day’s end, about $700 billion evaporated from retirement plans, government pension funds and other investment portfolios. That means pocketbook issues are officially at the forefront of voters’ — and White House hopefuls’ — minds, if they weren’t already. It also made for a lot of vague promises, predictable accusations and similarly themed comments from the Obama and McCain camps as they scrambled to capitalize on the news of the day.

Witness Joe Biden, Democrat Barack Obama’s running mate, in Flat Rock, Mich.: “[Republican presidential candidate John McCain] stands with George Bush in the corner of the wealthy and well-connected. … If you’re ready for four more years of George Bush, John McCain is your man.”

Or McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, in Golden, Colo.: “[Barack Obama] wants to raise income taxes and raise payroll taxes and raise investment income taxes and raise business taxes and raise the death tax. But John McCain and I know that’s not the way you grow the economy.” (According to AP, in fact, independent groups have concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama’s proposal, which includes higher income and payroll taxes only for the wealthiest wage-earners.)

Also campaigning in Colorado, Obama said: “[McCain] doesn’t get what’s happening between the mountains in Sedona where he lives and the corridors of power where he works. Why else would he say that we’ve made great progress economically under George Bush. Why else would he say that the economy isn’t something he understands as well as he should. Why else would he say, today of all days, just a few hours ago — think about this, we just woke up to news of financial disaster — and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong. Senator McCain, what economy are you talking about?”

And McCain? In a new TV ad, he said: “Our economy is in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it.” At a campaign appearance, he added: “The economic crisis is not the fault of the American people. Our workers are the most innovative, the hardest working, the best skilled, the most productive, the most competitive in the world. … But they are being threatened today … because of greed and corruption that some engaged in on Wall Street and we have got to fix it.”

And so it went on and on. Both sides vowed to pursue regulatory reform and more efficient government oversight. But neither side offered any details on how they would do that or signaled they were ready provide fresh ideas on fixing the economy. It was an opportunity missed all around.

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