LOS ANGELES, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Tuesday that the U.S. government should not bail out mortgage lenders or speculative home buyers, and assistance must be accompanied by changes to prevent future housing crisis.

    "I've always been committed to the principle that it's not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they're big banks or small borrowers," the Arizona senator told a group of small business owners in Santa Ananear Los Angeles.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks to business owners as he campaigns in Santa Ana, California March 25, 2008. McCain said Tuesday that the U.S. government should not bail out mortgage lenders or speculative home buyers, and assistance must be accompanied by changes to prevent future housing crisis.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    McCain's comments came on the second day of his current three-day visit to California, where he was expected to hold a series of fundraisers and meetings with local people.

    The federal government's assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk that would endanger the entire financial system and the economy, he said.

    He also said that any assistance for borrowers should be focused solely on homeowners, not people who bought houses for speculative purposes to rent, or a second home.

    MaCain called for a pair of meetings -- one with top accounting professionals in the country "to discuss the current mark to market accounting systems," and another with top mortgage lenders for providing support and help to their cash-strapped customers.

    McCain began his latest California trip Monday when he reiterated his support for the U.S. war in Iraq at a "town hall" meeting with families of American soldiers.

    Criticizing his Democratic presidential rivals for their calls to end the Iraq war, MaCain said that setting a date for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would leave chaos and genocide in the region.

    "My Democrat opponents who want to pull out of Iraq refuse to understand what's being said and what's happening and that is the central battleground is Iraq in this struggle against radical Islamic extremism," he said.

    In a statement issued Monday in connection with the number of deaths of American soldiers in Iraq which reached 4,000, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said "it is past time to end this war that should never have been waged."

    Hillary Clinton, another Democratic candidate, issued a statement Monday pledging to bring a "responsible" end to the war and bringing U.S. troops home safely.