“While Senator McCain has suspended campaigning in order to return to Washington and lend his assistance to the negotiations now underway on Capitol Hill, Senator Reid has put out a statement informing McCain that his presence would ‘not be helpful.’ In fact, this is quite a reversal from yesterday, when Senator Reid told reporters ‘We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands and what we should do.’

“Unfortunately, Senator Reid is putting partisan politics ahead of the business of the American people. But there should be no mistake: 24 hours ago Reid and his Democratic colleagues on the Hill couldn’t have been more desperate for Senator McCain’s help in resolving this crisis. Now they’ve got it.” –McCain-Palin spokesman Brian Rogers

The Same Democrats Decrying Today’s Action By John McCain Are The Same Democrats Who Were Demanding John McCain’s Involvement Yesterday

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): “We Need The Republican Nominee For President To Let Us Know Where He Stands On What We Should Do.”

REID: “We need, now, the Republicans to start producing some votes for us. We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands and what we should do.” (Sen. Harry Reid, Media Availability, Washington, D.C., 9/23/08)

? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3f0BwyZKMw

Roll Call: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Told The White House That Senator John McCain Was Crucial To Any Bailout Deal.

“Fearing a political backlash against Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has told the White House that it must serve up support from Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) if it hopes to ensure bipartisan backing for a massive economic bailout package by week’s end.” (Erin P. Billings and John Stanton, “Reid Seeks McCain Pledge,” Roll Call, 9/24/08)

Roll Call: “McCain Holds The Key To … A Bipartisan Vote, According To Reid …” “McCain holds the key to such a bipartisan vote, according to Reid, because Republicans are likely to defer to his position on a bill that holds political peril. McCain on Tuesday night joined Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in lending qualified support for the $700 billion package, but it remains unclear whether his backing is strong enough and timely enough to persuade the Congressional rank and file.” (Erin P. Billings and John Stanton, “Reid Seeks McCain Pledge,” Roll Call, 9/24/08)

Senator Reid Told Secretary Paulson That Senator McCain Was Necessary For Any Agreement. ”

According to a Democratic aide familiar with the discussions, Reid told Paulson this week that ‘if McCain didn’t come out for this thing and come out for it quickly, it was going to begin bleeding Republican votes.’ Democrats ‘have a very real concern that opposition [from McCain] is going to drive away potential Republican votes,’ this aide said.” (Erin P. Billings and John Stanton, “Reid Seeks McCain Pledge,” Roll Call, 9/24/08)

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos: White House Has Been Told By Democrats “That There Is No Deal If McCain Doesn’t Go Along.”

“A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no – that there is no deal if McCain doesn’t go along.” (George Stephanopoulos, “McCain; Holds Key To Administration’s Bailout Passage On Capitol Hill,” ABC News, 9/23/08)

Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama is a member of the Senate Banking Committee that is working with the House Financial Services Committee on an economic rescue bill. The last thing the committees need is presidential politics getting in the way of the committees’ work.

As Gergen opined, the most important task for McCain is to round Republican votes in the House to pass some rescue bill. Depending on what comes out of the committees, the same role might be true for Obama.

He also said, “I have a BIG PLANE, McCain has a BIG PLANE, and they both have big slogans painted on the side. They can get us to Mississippi when they need to.”

Don’t guys do this in the locker room? Is there new ‘guy speak’ these days that I am not familiar with? He is actually commenting on the size of their planes??? Good to know he has a BIG, PRETTY, FAST ‘plane’….now he needs to get in it and go to Washington to do the work taxpayers PAY him to do……….Talk is cheap…..especially memorized soundbites….

A new concept for him since he has only been there 143 days and hasn’t voted most of that time…..he may not know exactly what he is supposed to do….oh, ‘they’ will ‘call him’ with that info.

As with the Surge, McCain is putting country first, I’m hoping the country is paying attention and votes for the man who cares more about us than about himself.

- There’s a time for politics, and a time for coming together to solve national problems. (And this is a time for politics.)
- This is exactly the time (for a foreign policy debate).
- If I can help in any way (the grownups actually dealing with the crisis) give me a call. I have a pretty, pretty airplane.
- The clock is ticking. This is a crisis. We must hurry to put out a joint press statement.
- I won’t be joining McCain in Washington, and by the way, suspending the campaigns (which I won’t be doing) was my idea first!!

Hugh Hewitt had a bunch of excerpts from Obama’s press conference:
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/MediaPlayer/AudioPlayer.aspx?ContentGuid=c346a0f2-cd86-4cd1-b96e-8cd41c65271b

It could be a McCain campaign commercial without any added comment (except McCain’s approval).

Jeb