FLC Announces Payment of September Dividend and Declaration of October Dividend

PASADENA, Calif. & LISLE, Ill.--(Business Wire)--
The Board of Directors of Flaherty & Crumrine/Claymore Total
Return Fund Incorporated (NYSE: FLC) announced the payment of the
September dividend of $0.1365 per share payable to stockholders of
record on September 23, 2008 and the declaration of a dividend of
$0.1225 per share for the month of October.

The terms of the Fund's Articles Supplementary Establishing and
Fixing the Rights and Preferences of the Auction Market Preferred
Stock required the Fund to delay the payment of its September common
stock dividend because certain asset coverage requirements were not
met. Those requirements have now been met for both the payment of the
September dividend and the declaration of the October dividend.

The reduction in the Fund's asset coverage had been the result of
declining market values for the Fund's assets, which consist primarily
of preferred securities. The market values of preferred securities,
along with most other fixed income securities, have been experiencing
substantial declines as a result of the ongoing financial crisis. Last
week's uncertainty of a U.S. government rescue plan further severely
disrupted the securities markets and the valuations of the financial
companies which are the primary issuers of preferred securities. The
Fund expects to continue to work towards meeting asset coverage
requirements on an ongoing basis so that dividends can be paid and
declared. However, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will be
able to meet such asset coverage requirements.

The October dividend is expected to be paid on October 31, 2008 to
holders of record of each Fund's Common Stock on October 24, 2008. The
expected ex-dividend date is October 22, 2008. The Fund has reduced
the amount of the dividend from earlier levels as a result of its
recent de-leveraging in response to declining market values for the
Fund's assets.

FLC was organized in 2003 as a closed-end, diversified investment
company. FLC invests primarily in preferred and other income-producing
securities with a primary investment objective of high current income
and a secondary objective of capital appreciation. FLC is managed by
Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated, an independent investment adviser
which was founded in 1983 to specialize in the management of
portfolios of preferred and related securities.

Website: www.fcclaymore.com

PRESS AND ANALYST INQUIRIES:
Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated
Donald F. Crumrine
626-795-7300
Pasadena, California
crumrine@pfdincome.com
or
SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES:
Claymore Securities, Inc.
Dennis Dunleavy and William Korver
630-505-3700
Lisle, Illinois
ddunleavy@claymore.com
wkorver@claymore.com

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