Shadowed by economic peril, the two major political parties enter the election homestretch a study in contrasts of philosophy, strategy and confidence.

Democrats view Wall Street’s cry for a government rescue in light of what Senator Barack Obama calls “the final verdict” on the free-market ideology that has reigned, for the most part, in American politics for the last generation. Most Republicans condemn the bailout as a betrayal of that ideology.

Obama Democrats press for Washington to regulate financial institutions, augment the health insurance system and redistribute income through adjustments to the tax code. John McCain Republicans seek to direct voters’ unhappiness toward Washington’s corruption, rather than its underlying priorities, and raise doubts about Mr. Obama personally.

Flush with cash, Mr. Obama’s party embraces opportunities to carry once-forbidding “red” states in the presidential race and build larger House and Senate majorities to enact their agenda. Mr. McCain’s party aims at a narrow presidential victory on a shrunken battlefield as some Congressional Republicans have begun viewing his potential defeat as a step toward political renewal.