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| McCain: Scrap Friday Debate for Bailout; Obama Camp: 'The Debate is On' |
| 2008-09-24 |
| ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and Rick Klein report: Sen. John McCain on Wednesday said he would “suspend” his presidential campaign to come to Washington to help negotiate a financial bailout bill, a dramatic move designed to seize a powerful issue. However a senior Obama campaign official said Obama "intends to debate." "The debate is on," a senior Obama campaign official told ABC News. McCain said he called on the Commission on Presidential Debates to postpone the debate scheduled for Friday in Mississippi, to ensure quick congressional action. “I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me,” McCain planned to say in New York City, according to advance excerpts released by his campaign. “I am calling on the president to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.” Obama supporter and chief debate negotiator Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., told MSNBC that "we can handle both," when asked about his reaction to McCain's call to postpone the first debate because of the administration's bailout plan. He believes they are making good progress on Capitol Hill on the bailout and his initial reaction is that the work on the Hill should not preclude the debate from taking place. An Obama campaign official told ABC News the Democratic presidential candidate called McCain this morning to suggest a joint statement of principles. McCain called back this afternoon and suggested returning to Washington. Obama is willing to return to Washington "if it would be helpful." But reiterated Obama intends to debate on Friday. McCain and his top advisers said the Republican presidential candidate has not committed to voting for the massive financial bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration, with aides saying he will reserve final judgment until there is a final product. A senior McCain campaign official said that the “Bush package is dead. This is a serious situation. Package must be resolved by the time markets open on Monday." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that McCain had assured Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that he would support the $700 billion legislation. Asked about that Wednesday, McCain responded: “I did not say that.” Senior advisor Mark Salter then interjected saying, “He hasn’t said that to Paulson or to Reid or to anybody else. He hasn’t said that to me.” McCain campaign political director Mike DuHaime told reporters at a lunch meeting in Washington that the senator will not commit until he sees the final package that comes to the Senate floor. “He’s going to do what he thinks is right,” DuHaime said at a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. “He’ll make a vote as a leader in this country, and people will look to him.” DuHaime added, “Quite frankly, I think you could ask Sen. Obama if he’s going to do what he thinks is right. I mean, he has never -- I believe -- never once made a decision that is an unpopular decision or went against the orthodoxy of his party, and was one that was one that was a tough decision to make. . . . Sen. McCain has done that throughout his entire career, his entire life -- not just in politics, but his life.” DuHaime said that while McCain understands the urgency, many voters continue to have important questions about what the bailout means to them. “When you start talking about $10,000 per household or per family to go toward bailing out Wall Street, they have legitimate questions about it,” DuHaime said. “People understand that that is a big thing and it affects them, and they do legitimately have questions about, is this really going to go to bail out companies or leaders of companies who now are relying on taxpayer dollars to bail them out, and are going to get these huge compensation packages after they come to the taxpayers for it.” “There is some frustration, certainly, in that, and it’s understandable to say the least. And it has not been a quick rush to say yes or no. People understand the gravity of this, want to see it done right, while still understanding the timing factor.” |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #16 I suspect Anguper's is a VERY likely scenario. Appears the crooks on the hill may be mod'ing the... terms of reference from "bail out" which isn't selling well in Peoria, to something more palatable like "rescue plan." New deck chair arrangement, same flooded engine room. The proposal by Sen. Chris (VIP Countrywide)Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, would give the government broad power to buy up virtually any kind of bad asset — including credit card debt or car loans — from any If this drags on more than a week or so, it will get much worse by design as "the folks" decide to forgoe their already delinquent Sept and pending Oct/Nov house, credit card, or Escalade payments in anticipation of a potential entitlement windfall. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-24 19:24 |
| #15 McCain could still surprise everyone by coming out against the bailout & opposing Bush. The Treasury & Fed can still take control of the insolvent banks (which is probably most of them), as they are already required to do, & provide relief for the ensuing credit crunch directly. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2008-09-24 19:08 |
| #14 Isn't the bailout really needed to avoid A Great Depression II? I mean, the government will eventually have to spend big dollars in any kind of echo-FDR plan anyway. I say, best to avoid it NOW while we can. The Dems seem to be pushing to not pass it, which makes me really suspicious. Other thoughts? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2008-09-24 18:42 |
| #13 Heading off the possible collapse of our economy trumps all other activities. Just staying in contact with Reid and Pelosi by phone is not leadership. I wonder if Obama's wife was in critical condition and could possibly die, would he continue the campaign and stay in touch with the doctors? Perhaps he would after giving the doctors his four main talking points on what her treatment should be to cure her. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-09-24 18:00 |
| #12 ZF, going back to Washington to do the job Arizona elected him to do is not an about face (he's still their senior senator, in case you forgot). Sorry, but voting "present" on this one just ain't good enough. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2008-09-24 17:47 |
| #11 Last paragraph correction: The same people who absolutely created the problem are the same people that are going to solve the problem. God help and protect us from these incompetents, thieves, and parasites. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-09-24 17:34 |
| #10 Look back at where all the bad loans came from. They came from Clinton pushing for looser restrictions on home loans for people that could not qualify under a conventional loan. He proposed it. Congress made it into law. The financial houses made the sh*t loans. The loans went into default. Now Congress and the current president are trying to bail out bad policy that was made into law. The same people who absolutely created the problem are the same people that caused the problem. God help and protect us from these incompetents, thieves, and parasites. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-09-24 17:33 |
| #9 ZF, precisely where does it say that McCain is supporting this thing? Based on his previous remarks over the week, I don't think he does. He just did an about face. The right plan would be no plan - i.e. let the market sort it out. The fact that he supports any plan means he's not interested in letting the market work. I hope the handout package fails anyway. ItÂ’s a real boat anchor for him, when you consider that the handout plan as envisioned requires the purchase of toxic waste assets from financial institutions (a category now broadened to include companies like IBM, GE and H&R Block) at a significant premium to what they would fetch today based on the fanciful idea that government officials have a better (in my view inflated) idea of what theyÂ’re worth than prevailing market prices. This is the biggest non-entitlement-related boondoggle in American history. Even if he wins the election, the fallout from this massive handout - due to massive portfolio losses resulting from paying too much for toxic waste assets - will make him a one-term president. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-09-24 17:14 |
| #8 One other thought -- I sure hope Romney banged McCain on the head, and laid out a to-do plan for him. McCain's plans, the "let's get together and talk about it," haven't always given us what we want. Usually, much more than we want! |
| Posted by: Sherry 2008-09-24 16:45 |
| #7 I'm sure there's already a crimp in Candidate Obama's fund raising, Cornsilk Blondie. I saw a picture of a rally he held recently; more than half the seats were empty, at a location McCain and Palin had filled a few days before. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-09-24 16:40 |
| #6 Just my two-cents -- McCain hasn't said yes to the plan: top advisers said the Republican presidential candidate has not committed to voting for the massive financial bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration, with aides saying he will reserve final judgment until there is a final product. Plus, today McCain discusses bailout deal with Romney, CEOs Flanking McCain were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Others in the meeting were John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, and John Thain, the CEO of Merrill Lynch before it was acquired by Bank of America earlier this month for a much-reduced value. In addition, he states “I am calling on the president to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.” One other thought -- talk about distancing himself from Bush: Bush is going prime-time tonight, pushing for the bailout; McCain steps on center-stage today and grabbed the limelight, doing just the opposite of what Bush is doing, proving he's not Bush III. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2008-09-24 16:37 |
| #5 ZF, precisely where does it say that McCain is supporting this thing? Based on his previous remarks over the week, I don't think he does. I could care less right now about the election. He's a senator, he should be there in Washington dealing with this mess instead of giving the same canned speech over and over again, and so should Obama. (I'm betting he won't, mainly because it will put a crimp in his fundraising.) |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2008-09-24 16:29 |
| #4 Calling a 'time out' to 'ice the quarterback'? |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2008-09-24 16:26 |
| #3 Excellent - McCain is now going to support this handout plan just as he supported the amnesty plan. I canÂ’t believe heÂ’s pulling this kind of stunt in the middle of a presidential election campaign. Why does he persist in doing un-conservative things? Is he daring conservatives not to vote for him? |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-09-24 16:19 |
| #2 I'd like to see the "debate" go ahead with just Obama there, talking to himself. That would be about as useful as having him in Washington voting "present". |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-09-24 16:09 |
| #1 Senior advisor Mark Salter then interjected saying, “He hasn’t said that to Paulson or to Reid or to anybody else. He hasn’t said that to me.” strange that Harry Reid would say such a thing. That would make him a ...liar. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-09-24 16:03 |