McCain Gambles In Effort To Regain The Offensive

John McCain, losing ground as the economic crisis deepens, sought today to beat Barack Obama to the punch by suspending his campaign, postponing Friday’s presidential debate, and calling for an emergency meeting between the President, congressional leaders and both nominees to produce legislation addressing the threat of a Wall Street collapse and a dangerous recession.

McCain’s abrupt announcement, in an email sent out at 2:56 PM Wednesday, appeared designed to pre-empt Obama, who, according to aides, had already initiated efforts to seek a bipartisan solution. At 3:09 PM, just 14 minutes after the McCain email, Bill Burton of the Obama campaign sent out the following statement:

“At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Senator McCain returned Senator Obama’s call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details.”

Later in the day, Obama rejected McCain’s proposal to postpone the first debate. “This is exactly the time the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess,” Obama said. “What I’ve told the leadership in Congress is that if I can be helpful, then I am prepared to be anywhere, anytime. What I think is important is that we don’t suddenly infuse Capitol Hill with presidential politics.”

Blogged with the Flock Browser