Why McCain and Obama Should Be In Washington
Tags: President Bush.
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The more I think about McCain’s decision to call on Obama to join him in Washington to play a role in the process of coming up with a bipartisan solution, the more I see it as a good move.
McCain and Obama are U.S. Senators. This is a financial crisis. They each have huge influence on their parties. If there are any two people who can make this process move as fast as possible, it is John McCain and Barack Obama.
According to Barack Obama’s talking points, presidential politics shouldn’t be “injected” into this situation. The problem with that claim is that regardless of the outcome of this debate in Washington, D.C. in simple terms, either John McCain or Barack Obama will have to deal with the situation in a different capacity come January. Should they be a part of the debate? Absolutely.
The fact that Obama plans to stay in D.C. tonight puts him in the tough spot tomorrow. Will he leave with this situation unresolved, or will he stay and be a part of the process?
Barack Obama didn’t want to go on the record on this issue. If he leaves before this situation is resolved, it will be a huge political blunder for him.
UPDATE: Political strategist Margaret Hoover:
This round goes to McCain.
If we are really facing a “once in a century crisis”; if financial institutions will begin to fail at the beginning of next week should Congress not act; if this is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a legitimate economic calamity; then McCain’s decision to suspend his Presidential campaign, halt fundraising activities, freeze political advertising, is spot on.
At a moment when Paulson and Washington are asking for carte blanche to spend $700+ billion of our money bailing out Wall Street’s fat cats and bad habits, McCain throws himself in front of the bus.
It’s the economy stupid. At this moment, nothing else is more important.
Unless you’re Obama.
UPDATE: McCain’s gamble pays off.
UPDATE: Dick Morris:
FACING a postconvention fall in the polls, John McCain once again reshaped the dimensions of the race by suspending his campaign and calling for postponement of tomorrow’s debate.
This bold move could have an impact on the race akin to McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Defensively, McCain had to act to stop the fall in his poll numbers.
Offensively, he has placed himself at the epicenter of the only issue on the national agenda – proactive action to stop a total international financial collapse.
Obama’s response to McCain’s initiative is lame. As with his initial reaction to Sarah Palin, Obama has miscalculated. While he tries to spin McCain’s move as a mere response to his initiative, it was the Republican who first issued the call for a suspension of the campaigns.
Both McCain and Obama will now go to Washington. McCain on his own initiative. Obama as a result of the president’s call for an economic summit.
But it is McCain who will play the proactive role. Obama will come to Washington, but will keep one foot outside the Beltway.
Even though the president has called both candidates to Washington to save the country, Obama continues to campaign. Politics as usual.
Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.
38 Responses to “Why McCain and Obama Should Be In Washington”
Caucus of Corruption
McCain will be calling house members and senators tonight. Obama will be studying up for the debate. That is all you need to know. What arrogance. As if postponing the debate a few days will matter compared to our economy collpasing. I ask you lemmings again, what is the diffrence between having the debate Friday and having it say tuesday?
McCain will be giving interviews to the three broadcast networks tonight.
Obama joined McCain in Washington?
But I thought it was a stunt?
3. neocon | September 25th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
————————————-
Obama can go to Washington, attend the debate and still continue with his campaign.
McCain, not so much.
“Bailout deal breaks down; Bernanke back to Capitol”
Does no one realize what kind of freakin’ danger we are in?
CO, we are your major trading partner and our banks are inter-twined. You are in danger also.
Snarkiness won’t feed you.
Kahn, if we are in such great danger, why did McCain go in to the meeting this afternoon and torpedo the deal?
CO,
First of all, please answer how Obama going to DC was not a stunt, but McCain’s was. Also, McCain was “suspending” his ads and appearances of his campaign for two days to focus solely on the financial crisis, which is in fact what Obama did, without saying it.
McCain is just a bit more honest about it which is difficult for you to understand, since you seem to prefer lies and deception.
McCain stayed behind to counsel and seek advice to wake up tomorrow and resolve the issue. Obama ran away.
You have no idea how badly Obama will lose in November.
kmg,
Wow. Torpedo the deal? You obviously have some proof that I am anxious to see.
And care to address Obamas “stunt” of going to DC?
“For eight years we’ve been told that the way to a stronger economy was to give huge tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest. Cut oversight on Wall Street. And somehow all Americans would benefit,” Obama says in the ad.
Bush Called For Reform of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac 17 Times in 2008 Alone… Dems Ignored Warnings
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/09/bush-called-for-reform-of-fannie-mae.html
Why does Obama blatantly lie?
Before the meeting there was a bipartisan press conference saying that the deal was mostly worked out. Then John “Seagull” McCain happened. Now it appears they are back at square one.
During the White House meeting, it appears that Sen. John McCain had an agenda. He brought up alternative proposals, surprising and angering Democrats. He did not, according to someone briefed on the meeting, provide specifics.
One the proposals — favored by House Republicans — would relax regulation and temporarily get rid of certain taxes in order to lure private industry into the market for these distressed assets.
That approach has been rejected by Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and, to this point, the White House. During the meeting, according to someone briefed on it, Sec. Henry Paulson told those assembled that the approach was not workable.
Before the White House meeting, Democrats and Senate Republicans were on track to get legislation to the floor by tomorrow. Democrats say that, at best, they hope for half of Republicans in the House to go along. At worst, the vote in the House becomes partisan and then Senate Republicans get shaky and then…
As of 6:30, as the Corner notes, Fox’s Carl Cameron notes that the mood on Capitol Hill is “remarkably sour.”
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/mccains_surprise.php
Before the White House meeting, Democrats and Senate Republicans were on track to get legislation to the floor by tomorrow. Democrats say that, at best, they hope for half of Republicans in the House to go along……
kmg,
If you could actually think, the quote above proves you wrong. There was not much support at all for this hastily put together package by low level representatives. McCain put the brakes on it to take time to advise, counsel and consult.
It’s what leaders do. You wouldn’t understand that. I get that.
Next
McCain will come back tomorrow morning after seeking consultation and consensus, and will get this deal done the right way. Then will head off to Oxford to kick some Obama ass in the debate, wich he has wanted to do for the last four months, but Obama just couldn;t find the time. I guess it took a national crisis before Obama found the time to debate.
neocon,
If you could step back from your McCain crush for a minute, you would see that getting 80-100 House Republican votes would make it bi-partisan. The negotiators from both sides felt they could get that this weekend. It all went up in smoke after the meeting. If McCain hadn’t convinced Bush to call this meeting, there was a good chance of getting a bill passed quickly. Now McCain has thrown his lot in with the Republican hawks who won’t support a bill without tax cuts. What did he accomplish with this stunt?
……there was a good chance of getting a bill passed quickly. – kmg
That’s the difference between you and I. I don’t want a quick deal. Quick deals usually bring more problems. I want a well thought out, fully supported, long term, transparent deal that protects taxpayers.
….you would see that getting 80-100 House Republican votes would make it bi-partisan. – kmg
Are you forgetting about the Senate?
kmg – “if” we are in such danger? Whats the matter, have a glitch downloading your talking points?
The fact you don’t see the problem (as a party) is why you can’t be trusted to lead. You think this is all some dodge.
You drooling morons. Haven’t any of you read ANY history? Our welfare is not guaranteed. The Constitution does NOT describe political parties. In fact, the more I look at the gridlock the more I think there should BE no parties.
Only 15 comments.
There was an agreement by both parties.
From what I understand, it was pretty fair to both Wall Street and Main Street.
McCain came in and blew it up with political theatre.
He offered a new plan with no specifics and got enough of the GOP to go along with this investigating this new plan.
Democrats and Republicans have been working on solving this for the week and McCain defeated all their efforts in a few hours for political gain.
What happened to Country First?
From what I understand …Jim
You should have stopped right there.
The fact is you don’t understand much, and that hastily crafted bill did not have much support.
But since you opened this door and claimed that this bill was fair to both wall street and main street, how about offering some specifics?
The only thing I saw all morning on the tube was the MOST liberal members of congress telling all the pundits that a deal has been reached.
If the MOST liberal members of the House were saying a deal has been reached I can only assume that a deal was reached between the moderate wing of the Democratic party and the liberal wing of that party. Did any of them bother to get the Republicans in the house involved? Didn’t think so.
All you folks complaining about McCain “torpedoing” the agreement, hah! You’d change your tune in a minute if the Dems barely passed the legislation without Republican support then McCain went to the public saying the Democrats and Obama gave away almost a trillion dollars.
They need a bipartisan bill – what that means is Democrats and Republicans – not moderate Democrats and liberal Democrats.
Kahn,
You say there is a crisis; neocon disagrees. Did neocon get a “glitch” in his talking points? It is your party leaders in the House who don’t see the problem. The Democrats have been negotiating in good faith to get this passed as soon as possible and had agreement with the moderate Republicans, but the far right Republicans and Seagull McCain killed it and are in no hurry to see something pass. So those are the drooling morons that you need to direct your anger at.
Just a thought:
I would prefer getting a bill done right that properly addresses this emergency, protects taxpayers, is transparent and will allow for effective oversight going forward.
That is much more important than passing a “quick” bill, so this arbitrarily timed debate can happen. A debate that could have taken place any time over the last four months, but was apparently too busy.
You say there is a crisis; neocon disagrees.
kmg,
I am done debating someone of your limited intellect, high level of dishonesty, and very low level of reading comprehension.
You are just too stupid to participate.
Sorry.
neocon,
Here’s some of the specifics:
The principles the Democrats said had been agreed upon call for Congress to make $250 billion available immediately with $100 billion available, if needed, without requiring additional congressional approval, said two senior Democratic aides familiar with the negotiations. The second half of $350 billion would then become available by a special approval of Congress.
On executive compensation, the draft would require limits on compensation for executives of any company participating in the bailout. These caps would apply for as long as the company is in the program. This would include some language to limit excess “golden parachutes.”
Treasury will also get an equity stake in the companies being helped by the bailout, though what type remains to be worked out.
Still to be worked out is whether to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms, a provision backed by many Democrats and community activists but opposed by Republicans and the banking industry.
if ya all’ thaynk about it a bit…if we followed mac’s advys in 06, they we wouldnt have this problem taday…
so STFU and listen…do what you do best and follow the leader
mac’s the next POTUS…
No big loss, neocon. Your own party needs to finish the debate before you can debate anyone else. You can start with Kahn.
And being called someone with a high level of dishonesty by you, the master of dishonesty, is a true compliment indeed.
kmg,
Do you still think that I don’t believe this is an emergency? Or will you admit that you lied?
That bill that you just cut and pasted is essentially Paulsons bill, that the Democrats wanted to parse out and apporve quickly, maybe to stop the FBI investigation that will surely reveal their culpability which they desperately want to hide. Remember when Frank said there was no problem?
Republicans would rather craft a bill that addresses the full scope of the problem, not just piece meal it, and hope to infuse private capital, saving the tax payers some burden.
But again, it’s easier for you to cut, paste and regurgitate than think. It’s easier, right?
You’re an ignorant disgrace.
screw the banks…if they want taxpayer money to stay alive…require them to give just as good a deal as they got from uncasam to the americans that borrow the money from them…time to end the days when bankers are the only fat cats on the block…when they charge consumers 39% interest on credit cards…they dont have a right to ask for tax payers to bail them out..
With so many people with the limited capacity for critical thought and honesty as kmg displays daily, is it any wonder we are in a crisis?
There are just too many stupid people on the planet in the mold of kmg, 24, NIP (where did he go?), cam, fact check, etc.
Hard to believe they know how to brush their teeth.
Hey, do any of our liberals who say that a deal was done care to explain the messiahs statement? It seems that you didn’t get the talking points. That will cost you some Obama brownie points. Bad liberals.
Obama said he left thinking they will reach a deal, but some work still needs to be done.
kmg? anyone?
Jim O’Blaine – democrats said there was an agreement. But they didn’t talk to Republicans. So yah, THEY were in agreement.
This goes beyond party. Actually right into McCain’s court. He is the proven negotiator. Obama is sitting in the back of the room doing as he’s told by the big boys.
neocon, you said, “That’s the difference between you and I. I don’t want a quick deal.” I read that as you don’t see this as a crisis that must be resolved by Monday. Kahn disagrees.
What I pasted is what has been reported in the news. (I have this thing about citing sources and not making unsubstantiated claims; a concept you are unfamiliar with.) It is not Paulson’s bill. His proposal was three pages of “give me $700 billion or the dog gets it.” There was no limit to the total amount, no oversight, no compensation limits for executives, and no provisions for Government stakes in participating companies. Here’s the text of Paulson’s proposal:
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY
TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS
Section 1. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as ____________________.
Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Authority to Purchase.–The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.
(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;
(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and
(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.
Sec. 3. Considerations.
In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for–
(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and
(2) protecting the taxpayer.
Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.
Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.
Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Exercise of Rights.–The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.
(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.
(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.
(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.–The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.
Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.
The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time
Sec. 7. Funding.
For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.
The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.
Sec. 11. Credit Reform.
The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.
Sec. 12. Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.–The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.
(2) Secretary.–The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(3) United States.–The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.
You are a liar.
OK KMG, you’re paying attention now. That’s enough for me.
I kind of think that Obama does not really need to be in town. The grown ups are handling this.
How many “ums” and “ahs” you think they need to ad to the bill?
And as for Biden, I hear he wants a clause declaring war on Spain for sinking the USS New Hampshire in Havana harbor. He heard it on the radio.
The grown ups are handling this.
Yeah, I noticed that McCain had nothing to do with anything, too. Which is probably for the best.
Kahn:
Too funny! I kind of think that BO feels this opportunity slipping by also. He “injected” himself into Fox News Special Report tonight and was questioned by an almost fawning Britt Hume.
His blandishments (more than punctuated by the “uhs” and conversational fillers) were perfunctory and without weight.
But the fact that he felt the need to go onto Fox News when heretofore in kinder times he had to be begged by the terminally self-referential Bill O’Reilly for that 3-hour ass-kissing session, was monumentally instructive.
Let him fly down to Oxford, MS and debate a chair if he wants. Like you say, the grown-ups are solving the problem.
Barack Obama, deer-in-the-headlights-stares we can believe in.
ourty years of republican misrule has brought us to this. Financial ruin at every level. But CNN reported on what happened inside the meeting at the White House today. Its failure seems to have caused the failure of this deal, and this meeting would not have occured if McCain hadn’t demanded it. He took another huge gamble, and lost. After the cameras left, Boehner started ranting about the right wing “plan” (deregulation, capital gains tax cuts, and an insurance plan that Paulson said won’t work). Bush was silent, and McCain said nothing. It seems as though Obama was the only one who tried to lead the meeting to some productive conclusion. CNN said that Obama first tried to reason with Boehner, and ask him to detail what his plan was. After he did this, Obama calmly asked Paulson if it would work, and Paulson said that it definately would not work (which was why house republicans didn’t ask him about this at the meeting yesterday). Obama continued with his attempts to salvage the mess that McCain created and refused to correct, but was unable. Again we see how much we need Obama and his leadership, and how disastrous McCain would be.
Very funny clip explaining McCain trip to DC.
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=186055
So it is leadership to go to Washington, attend some meetings, and then never make your position on the issue that compelled this behavior public?
Spare me.
When John McCain holds a press conference and outlines his plan, I will believe there is some leadership. Until then it is just political posturing, fiddling while Rome burns. He should be ashamed.