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McCain bid to delay debate rejected
Democrat Barack Obama rejected Republican opponent John McCain's stunning and surprise call for a delay in their upcoming debate as the Arizona senator announced he planned to suspend his campaign and return to Washington to focus on the US financial meltdown.
- AP
- Published: 23:35 September 25, 2008
Washington: Democrat Barack Obama rejected Republican opponent John McCain's stunning and surprise call for a delay in their upcoming debate as the Arizona senator announced he planned to suspend his campaign and return to Washington to focus on the US financial meltdown.
The two candidates later issued a joint statement, something Obama had said the two were working on earlier when McCain made his announcement about delaying the debate, in which they said the American people are facing a moment of economic crisis.
Speaking of the $700 billion (Dh2,570 billion) plan the administration has proposed to bail out the financial industry, the candidates said the proposal is flawed, but that the effort to protect the US economy must not fail.
The proposal came moments before President George W. Bush addressed the US in a televised speech, warning that the US faces a "long and painful recession" if Congress fails to act. He said "our entire economy is in danger."
Increasing importance
The three presidential debates between the candidates - the first slated for tonight - were becoming increasingly important as US voters face economic uncertainty, but McCain's announcement left the question of whether they will hold their first debate in doubt.
Obama, who seemed taken aback by McCain's move to delay the debates, asserted American voters needed to hear the candidates' views "now more than ever."
"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Obama said at a news conference in Clearwater, Florida, speaking before the joint statement was issued. "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once."
McCain said he was putting the good of the country ahead of politics, but his announcement was clearly a political move. It was an attempt to outmanoeuvre Obama on an issue - the economy - that has been hurting McCain as his rival continued to gain in polls.
The candidates' conflicting positions arose after they spoke privately about how to facilitate congressional negotiations on the Bush administration's $700 billion economic bailout proposal.
But McCain beat Obama to the punch with the first public statement, saying the Bush plan to prop up the financial community seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution was needed urgently.
Taking undue credit
"It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal," McCain said. "I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time."
But Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House committee shepherding the bailout plan, said all sides were getting close to a deal and accused McCain of "trying to take credit for something that's already happening without him."
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