Obama says Congress ultimately will pass bailout

Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama speaks to supporters during an event at Mountain Range High School in Westminster, Colorado, September 29, 2008.

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he believed Congress would ultimately pass a proposed $700 billion financial bailout deal, despite its initial rejection by the House of Representatives.

"I'm confident that we're going to get there. It's going to be a little rocky," said Obama, who added that "things are never smooth in Congress."

The Democratic White House hopeful said he had spoken by phone with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers following the rejection of the measure by the House.

"The stability of our entire economy is at risk so we've been left with no good options," he said.

He urged Americans and the financial markets to remain calm after the bailout deal failed, provoking a drop of about 5 percent or more in many U.S. stock market averages.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, editing by David Alexander)