McCain claim belied by his use of phone

John McCain boasted Monday about his hands-on role in Wall Street bailout talks – “it’s not my style to simply phone it in” – a claim contradicted by reports that McCain did spend Saturday lobbying for the bailout – by phone.

Campaigning in Ohio Monday before the House voted down the proposed bailout, McCain sought to use the original agreement on the bailout as evidence of his style of leadership that puts country first, ahead of his own campaign.

“I put my campaign on hold for a couple days last week to fight for a rescue plan that put you and your economic security first. I fought for a plan that protected taxpayers, homeowners, consumers and small business owners,” he told a rally.OhioWashington
“I went to

Washington

last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made on Wall Street and in Washington.

“Some people have criticized my decision, but I will never, ever be a president who sits on the sidelines when this country faces a crisis. Some of you may have noticed, but it's not my style to simply phone it in."

McCain did travel to

Washington

last Thursday, going to the Capital and participating in a bipartisan meeting at the White House, along with rival Barack Obama.

But after leaving to attend Friday night’s debate with Obama in

Mississippi

, McCain went back to his

Virginia

condo, and on Saturday went only to his campaign headquarters in

Arlington

.

A top McCain aide told the New York Times at the time that McCain did pressure fellow Republicans to ratify the proposed $700 billion bailout, but did it by phone.

“He's calling members on both sides, talking to people in the administration, helping out as he can,'' aide Mark Salter told the Times.

Salter also said it wasn’t necessary for McCain to actually go to the capitol.

“He can effectively do what he needs to do by phone,” Salter said.

 

McCain slams Obama on bailout

Campaigning in Ohio, John McCain today is boasting that he suspended his campaign last week to participate in talks on the Wall Street bailout and ripping Barack Obama for saying he was available if needed.
"It's not my style to sit and phone it in," McCain told a few thousand supporters in Columbus, Ohio.
Channeling his inner Teddy Roosevelt, he said that leaders "belong in the arena."
And he belittled Obama, saying, "that's not leadership, that's watching from the sidelines...watching from the sidelines is exactly what got us in this mess."
A crowd of a few thousand poured into a college field house to hear McCain and running mate Sarah Palin. The 30-minute rally did not fill the large room, which included an indoor track. 
Despite criticisms of her from several conservative columnists, Palin was greeted like a rock star as usual by the rank and file. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," they chanted when she walked in.
She noted that she faces rival Joe Biden this week in their only debate. "I guess it's my turn now," Palin said. "I'm looking forward to meeting him. I've never met him."

McCain: No Banking Bills in the 110th Congress

Republicans Saturday were still praising presidential nominee John McCain for injecting himself into the delicate financial bailout negotiations earlier week, and Democrats were still proclaiming his involvement a disaster.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters McCain rallied Republicans and got them to work together toward a solution; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said McCain simply delayed the process.

Now comes The Hill newspaper, which looked at McCain's recent record on banking legislation _ and found nothing. He's introduced no banking bills in the current Congress, The Hill reported, while Democrat Barack Obama has sponsored five.

McCain is the lead sponsor on 38 bills, and none has been referred to the Banking Committee. For that matter, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., also has not had a bill of his own referred to Banking.

That's not that unusual, since neither man sits on the committee, but it's also common for lawmakers to sponsor bills on issues they care about, regardless of committee assignment.

To read The Hill story:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/mccain-has-introduced-no-banking-bill-this-congress-2008-09-25.html

Pre debate spin: Obama says McCain is soooo smart, he needs to hit home run

Hours before Friday night's debate, the spin room at Ole Miss is empty. But the Obama camp is sending out an early memo on its initial spin: McCain's long record on foreign policy puts the pressure on him to deliver.

And lest we dismiss all spin as meaningless, self serving drivel, there is some truth in the observation that McCain cannot afford to stumble on the debate's central themes, foreign policy and national security.

"The centerpiece of John McCain’s campaign has been his more than a quarter century of experience in Washington learning about and debating foreign policy," says the Obama camp memo.

"If he slips up, makes a mistake, or fails to deliver a game-changing performance, it will be a serious blow to his campaign.  Given his unsteady performance this week, he desperately needs to win this debate in a big way in order to change the topic and get back to his home turf."

We're not sure we agree with the spin that McCain has to deliver a game changing performance. He's slipped in the polls, but the race remains close.

Obama, too, has some challenges tonight, namely assuring swing voters he's up to the job of commander in chief. If he succeeds at that, that could be a game changer that swings voters his way. If he falls short or stumbles himself, he'd need an even bigger edge on the eocnomy to trump McCain's "I'll-keep-you-safe" credentials.

We''ll leave it to voters to sort out whether McCain had an "unsteady" week.

But there's no doubt there is a potential downside for McCain should he slip on national security _ and both potential losses for Obama should he stumble, and upside should he look like a commander in chief.

The nationally televised debate starts at 9 pm EDT from the University of Mississippi. It will go 90 minutes and will be moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer.

Liberal ad shows McCain scars, questions health

A new ad from two liberal groups questions John McCain's health after bouts with skin cancer, and shows close-ups of surgery scars on his face to dramatically illustrate the point.

"John McCain is 72 years old and had cancer 4 times,’’ the ad says as it shows close up pictures of McCain's face after successful surgery in 2000. "Why won’t McCain release his medical records?’’

It also features two doctors saying McCain could be incapacitated as president.

"Another bout of cancer for John McCain while he’s president of the United States would profoundly affect his ability to lead,’’ says o0ne of them.

The ad is being aired by Democracy for America, a group founded by Howard Dean and now run by his brother, and another called Brave New PAC. The group said it did not discuss the ad with Howard Dean, now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The two groups last week aired another ad quoting a former prisoner of war questioning McCain's temperament.

.

Obama adviser: Betting McCain shows for the debate

Obama campaign senior strategist Robert Gibbs predicted this morning that John McCain will change his mind after all and show up tomorrow in Mississippi for the first scheduled presidential debate, rather than skip it to concentrate on the financial industry bailout. "I believe the debate's going to happen as scheduled," Gibbs told reporters at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. "I actually think he's going to come to the debate," Gibbs said of McCain. "I think he will decide a president is capable of doing more than one thing at a time." In any event, Gibbs said, Barack Obama will be there. Gibbs acknowledlged the debate commission has not told the Obama folks that the event would go on if McCain were a no-show. However, Gibbs said, "The commission has not talked to us in any way about changing what is planned to happen Friday. They have not made any plans not for it to go ahead." No details on how Obama might be preparing for a one-man debate.

McCain, Obama issue joint statement on rescue plan

As members of both parties tried to find common ground on a financial rescue plan _ and were apparently close to a compromise _ presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to a consensus plan.

Their statement:

“The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake.

“Now is a time to come together – Democrats and Republicans – in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush Administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.

"This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.”

Bush invites Obama, McCain to discuss bailout plan

President Bush has asked presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, as well as top congressional leaders, to meet with him Thursday at the White House to discuss the financial rescue plan.

Bush called Obama, the Democratic candidate, and they spoke for several minutes, according to White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued this statement:

“A few moments ago, President Bush called Senator Obama and asked him to attend a meeting in Washington tomorrow, which he agreed to do. Senator Obama has been working all week with leaders in Congress, Secretary Paulson, and Chairman Bernanke to improve this proposal, and he has said that he will continue to work in a bipartisan spirit and do whatever is necessary to come up with a final solution. He strongly believes the debate should go forward on Friday so that the American people can hear from their next President about how he will lead America forward at this defining moment for our country."

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke have been pushing the administration's bailout plan on Capitol Hill this week.

Presidential Debate: Nader's available

John McCain's stunning announcement that he would postpone the first presidential debate, prompted a joint statement from independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr:

"The fact that a candidate can call for changing the date of the debate only two days before it is scheduled indicates how easy it would be for the candidates to also call for the inclusion of the leading third party and independent candidates, which would bring fresh ideas to the table on how our country can truly tackle this heavy challenge."

--Maria Recio of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Ron Paul to Bob Barr -- take that as a "no."

When LIbertarian Party candidate Bob Barr was talking about Ron Paul two weeks ago, he was asking him to be his vice presidential candidate. Of course, he had also just dissed Paul by not showing up for the Texas congressman's third party "unity" press conference.  So, it wasn't a surprise that Paul, a Libertarian presidential hopeful in 1988 and a GOP primary contender in 2008, didn't even acknowledge Barr's offer.

Well, Barr finally got an answer. As noted here in an earlier post, Paul yesterday decided to formally endorse a presidential candidate, stepping out from his generic call at the National Press Club news conference for supporters to endorse any third party or independent candidate.  "The Libertarian Party candidate admonished me for `remaining neutral' in the presidential race and not stating whom I will vote for in November, " wrote Paul, who takes sneering to a new level by not even acknowledg Barr by name.

"I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate."

Memo to Barr: be careful what you wish for.

-- Maria Recio, Fort Worth Star-Telegram