JB> I am beginning to believe that Daschle was better than this
 JB> fool Reid...

 From what you have posted it seems Reid didn't do badly at all.

 ...

 JB> A Democrat tells ABC News that, in a phone call late this
 JB> afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told
 JB> Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., that it would NOT be helpful
 JB> for him to come back to Washington, D.C., to work on the
 JB> Wall Street bailout bill.

 Well, it seems not only did that get it wrong, but "A Democrat"
 might be anyone. It could be the Senate Janitor, who might be a
 democrat. It might even be Joe Leiberman deliberatly wording it
 deceptively to sabatoge the democrats chances.

 JB> McCain this afternoon suspended his campaign and said he
 JB> would skip the first presidential debate in order to return
 JB> to Capitol Hill to work on the log-jammed Bush
 JB> administration legislation, which, as of Wednesday
 JB> afternoon, was in peril.

 Funny, McCain can skip every session of congress since last
 April, but, when he needs an excuse to end the campaign early,
 he finds it really really necessary to go back to Washington.

 JB> McCain had phoned Reid to ask about the prospects of him,
 JB> Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and others to sit down and work
 JB> together on hammering out a bipartisan proposal.

 JB> "Sorry," Reid said to him, a Democrat close to Reid says.

 Was Leiberman standing next to Reid when he got the call?

 JB> Reid then read McCain the statement he had just put out:
 JB> "This is a critical time for our country," says the Reid
 JB> statement. "While I appreciate that both candidates have
 JB> signaled their willingness to help, Congress and the
 JB> administration have a process in place to reach a solution
 JB> to this unprecedented financial crisis. I understand that
 JB> the candidates are putting together a joint statement at
 JB> Sen. Obama’s suggestion.  But it would not be helpful at
 JB> this time to have them come back during these negotiations
 JB> and risk injecting presidential politics into this process
 JB> or distract important talks about the future of our
 JB> nation’s economy.  If that changes, we will call upon them.
 JB>  We need leadership; not a campaign photo op. If there were
 JB>  ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before
 JB>  the American people about this serious challenge, it is
 JB>  now.”

 Sounds like Reid has McCain right on target.

 JB> A source close to Reid said McCain didn't have much to say
 JB> after that. Reid, the source says, thinks McCain's maneuver
 JB> is a gimmick born from bad poll numbers and the fact that
 JB> "debate prep must not be going very well."

 Which sounds just about right.

 JB> - jpt

 JB> UPDATE: McCain senior adviser Mark Salter emails:
 JB> "Yesterday, Harry Reid said that consensus couldn't be
 JB> achieved without John McCain's leadership. John stepped up
 JB> and is providing that leadership. Now Senator Reid seems to
 JB> have changed his mind for reasons we'll let him explain.

 Yesterday John McCain was shooting from the hip. Today he wants
 to shut off a campaign that is going badly, and wants the Senate
 to provide cover.

 JB> But what he should understand is that this isn't about
 JB> Harry Reid or John McCain or Barack Obama. It's about the
 JB> American people and, in the words of Warren Buffet, the
 JB> financial Pearl Harbor they're facing. John's committed to
 JB> doing his part to help avert that calamity. We hope Senator
 JB> Reid is too."

 McCain did enough to create it. He seems to have prejudged the
 issue, already having given his solution. So, he can just email
 his campaign talking points, and let the rest go on without him.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn{at}sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... I hit my CTRL key, but I'm STILL not in control
 * Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg]
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5a