Ed.
note: Following Sen. McCain's announcement on Sept. 24 that he was suspending his
campaign to focus on the economic crisis (which was greeted with
considerable skepticism by some pundits and the Obama
campaign, there was uncertainty as to whether he would show up for
the first debate. On Friday morning the McCain campaign sent out
this release...
PRESS RELEASE from McCain-Palin 2008
For Immediate Release
Friday, September 26, 2008
Contact: Press Office
STATEMENT BY MCCAIN
CAMPAIGN ON NEGOTIATIONS
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today
released the following statement on negotiations:
"John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign was made in the hopes
that politics could be set aside to address our economic crisis.
"In response, Americans saw a familiar spectacle in Washington. At a
moment of crisis that threatened the economic security of American
families, Washington played the blame game rather than work together to
find a solution that would avert a collapse of financial markets
without squandering hundreds of billions of taxpayers' money to bailout
bankers and brokers who bet their fortunes on unsafe lending practices.
"Both parties in both houses of Congress and the administration needed
to come together to find a solution that would deserve the trust of the
American people. And while there were attempts to do that, much of
yesterday was spent fighting over who would get the credit for a deal
and who would get the blame for failure. There was no deal or offer
yesterday that had a majority of support in Congress. There was no deal
yesterday that included adequate protections for the taxpayers. It is
not enough to cut deals behind closed doors and then try to force it on
the rest of Congress -- especially when it amounts to thousands of
dollars for every American family.
"The difference between Barack Obama and John McCain was apparent
during the White House meeting yesterday where Barack Obama's priority
was political posturing in his opening monologue defending the package
as it stands. John McCain listened to all sides so he could help focus
the debate on finding a bipartisan resolution that is in the interest
of taxpayers and homeowners. The Democratic interests stood together in
opposition to an agreement that would accommodate additional taxpayer
protections.
"Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the
Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is
optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan
agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be
represented in negotiations, including Representative Blunt as a
designated negotiator for House Republicans. The McCain campaign is
resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this
afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure
that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement,
especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."