WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Reacting to the House's defeat of a $700 billion bailout proposal yesterday, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain called on Congress to pass a new bill and then sought to blame each other for the deadlock on Capitol Hill.

McCain found himself in a particularly awkward position after bragging about his role in building a coalition behind the economic rescue package yesterday morning — hours before it was defeated.

In a curt statement after the measure was rejected and stocks plummeted, McCain said he had "worked hard to play a constructive role" in its passage and declared that "now is not the time to fix the blame."

But McCain and his top aides then accused Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress of orchestrating the bill's failure to embarrass McCain, even though many more House Republicans voted "no" than did Democrats.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "Today's inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington."

At a rally in Colorado, Obama urged lawmakers to quickly return to the table to stabilize the nation's economy. Like McCain, Obama had offered cautious support for the measure over the weekend.