Source: Michelle Singletary, Washington Post ( Free Registration )

Far too many people are buckling under the strain of running a household as consumer prices rise, home values decline and banks tighten up on credit. There’s such financial distress across the country because of mountains of personal debt that any new president will have a difficult time trying to fix the deep-seated problems.

So do John McCain and Barack Obama, the presumptive presidential candidates, understand the financial hardship of the people they seek to lead in the White House? Can they effectively tackle the issues that are dragging down the economy?

Democratic Sen. Obama carved out some time for me recently to discuss how he would deal with our economic crisis. His Republican counterpart, Sen. McCain, has yet to respond to repeated requests for an interview.

Read Full Article: Obama knows firsthand about debt