Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stepped onto the international stage for the first time Tuesday, meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe -- the first foreign heads of state she has ever met.

The meeting was billed by the Associated Press as "a tightly controlled crash course on foreign policy for ... the mayor-turned-governor who has been outside North America just once."

Most journalists were initially barred from the event by campaign staffers, who later relented.

On Wednesday, GOP presidential nominee John McCain (web|news|bio) and Palin were expected to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. Palin was then to meet separately with Iraq (web|news) i President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

McCain also sparked the media's ire Tuesday by refusing to take questions as he has in the past.

"Has this become the no-talk express?" one reporter asked rhetorically.

Earlier, the candidate did address the pressing national issue of the week: economic anxiety and the proposed Wall Street bailout.

"I want the people in Ohio here to know that I have not forgotten the economy on main street. Not Wall Street, not Washington DC, but Main Street is the focus of our attention and our efforts," said McCain.

McCain's rival for the White House, Democrat Barack Obama (web|news|bio), said Tuesday any plan to rescue Wall Street from its financial woes must ensure that taxpayers are reimbursed and corporate executives are not further enriched for bad behavior.

The Democratic presidential candidate also accused President Bush (web|news|bio) of taking a "my way or the highway" attitude on the proposed bailout.

Obama added that his proposed middle-class tax cuts remain "absolutely necessary" despite the economic turbulence. He said it would put money in the pockets of working families at a time when the economy may be sliding into recession.

Obama reportedly spent much of his day preparing for Friday night's presidential debate, the first of the general election. He's been sparring with a McCain stand-in, D.C. Lawyer Greg Craig, who defended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings.

Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) made another visit to Battleground Virginia Tuesday, his fourth visit to the commonwealth so far.

"I was with your governor the other day," he said at a rally in Woodbridge. "He said Barack and I have almost been in Virginia enough to get residency."

The Virginia focus has many voters happy about the attention lavished by the campaign on the commonwealth's 13 electoral votes.

"I'm here because i'm a strong supporter of the Democratic party," said Margaruiette Olson.

"We've been canvassing and knocking on doors and I'm very excited about this election," said Larry Graham, an Obama-Biden volunteer. "I think Virginia's gonna go blue."