Obama urges Bush to use bailout authority wisely

GLENSIDE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday welcomed the House of Representatives' passage of the Wall Street bailout bill and urged the Bush administration to use the authority "wisely."

"I'm glad to see that we've finally got this thing dealt with," Obama told reporters. "The No. 1 thing is that the administration uses this authority wisely, makes sure that (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and others are structuring the purchase of these assets in a way that protects taxpayers."

(Reporting by Mark Egan, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)