President Bush himself has made it clear that the dangers posed are almost unprecedented, requiring a drastic and radical response in the form of his proposed bail-out of the banks.

Even so, observers were taken aback when presidential candidate John McCain signalled his intention to suspend his campaign and return to Washington to throw his weight behind the efforts to achieve a consensus. He also called for the first televised debate with Barack Obama to be postponed, a suggestion immediately rejected by his rival.

The Republican runner's intentions may have been noble in placing the national interest above that of his party, but he runs the risk that his opponents will seek to portray this move as a crude attempt to turn the situation to his own political advantage. Moreover, many US voters will agree with Mr Obama's assertion that presidents "are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time".