from
Obama for America (rec'd 8:29 p.m.) and McCain-Palin 2008 (rec'd 8:52
p.m.)
September 24, 2008
Joint Statement of Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain
“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.”
note: the Obama
campaign appended this to its release...
Speaking for
himself, Senator Obama outlined the following principles that he calls
on Senator McCain to support:
I believe that several core principles should guide this
legislation.
First, there must be oversight. We should not hand over a
blank check to the discretion of one man. We support an independent,
bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency.
Second, we need to protect taxpayers. There should be a
path for taxpayers to recover their money, and to turn a profit if Wall
Street prospers.
Third, no Wall Street executive should profit from
taxpayer dollars. This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose
greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis.
Fourth, we must help families who are struggling to stay
in their homes. We cannot bail out Wall Street without helping millions
of families facing foreclosure on Main Street.
Fifth, we both agree that this financial rescue package
should move on its own without any earmarks or other measures. We have
different views about the need for other action, but this must be a
clean bill.
This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the
country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. This is not a
Democratic problem or a Republican problem – this is an American
problem. Now, we must find an American solution.