Congress has reached an agreement on the bailout

I don't have the details - I just got a 'breaking news' memo.

Poor ol' John. Now he'll have to debate next week. (Actually I don't think he cares about his debate. He had just suggested that the VP's debate be pushed back a week and he and Obama take their 'slot'. Now Sarah will have to finish her classes early.

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Updated On: 9/25/08 at 01:31 PM

Here's a link to MSNBC's story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26884523/

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Part of McCain's statement to the Clinton Global Initiative this morning:

"I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at hand, which it clearly is not. As of this morning I suspended my political campaign...

It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal to meet the crisis. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time. So I am returning to Washington to seek five fundamental improvements to this critical legislation."

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"Declare that Bush should postpone the election until a more stable time?"

Don't give anyone any ideas.

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There is no historical precedent for "Suspending the campaign" because of crisis by the way- President Carter (at the time a sitting president) decided not to go on the road to campaign during the Iranian hostage crisis (And Reagan excoriated him for it) but was still able to attend the presidential debates.

Gore & Bush debated only days after the Cole attack in 2000.

The election cannot be postponed or changed in any way without a constitutional amendment.

like that's ever stopped bush before

The swiftness of an agreement does NOT help McCain in any way, shape, or form:

The news that lawmakers have come to an agreement in principle on a bailout plan seems to have come just a few hours too early for John McCain.

A McCain spokesman tells Salon the Republican nominee was in Washington, D.C. before the deal was announced, and that he attended meetings on the bailout. But it appears that McCain wasn't in on the meeting that mattered, the closed-door session that ended with an agreement. Instead, McCain was in House Minority Leader John Boehner's office with Sens. Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman. Moreover, McCain was not in the nation's capital for very long before the deal was announced, and he didn't get a chance to be in on the celebratory photo-op. The photo-op that will likely accompany the meeting at the White House this afternoon will be a poor substitute.

The timing of this bolsters the credibility of earlier reports that negotiators were very close to a deal, even as McCain said his help was urgently needed. The "suspension" of his campaign -- his surrogates have been on television all day -- was a gamble that could have paid off if he could portray himself as an integral factor in getting something done. It will be very hard to spin this that way now, though it will be interesting to see who tries, and how.

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This will be very difficult for McCain, his surrogates, or the Republican talking heads to spin in any positive manner. They'll try, of course, but it'll be hard to keep a straight face trying to talk about this in a positive light for McCain.

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but why is Sarah Palin at Ground Zero today holding a press conference if McCain is halting his campaign for this issue? she was there before this decision was even made. was Johnny-boy on the phone with her telling her to stop it when the final call was made "behind the closed door session"?

"Governor Palin, what is you favorite color of eye liner?"

McCain's stunt shows a lack of courage and campaign suffering because of a lack of ideas!

I think McCain was just missing Lieberman and wanted to give him a big smooch.

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I'm looking forward to hearing the details. And I wonder if they're be half as good as YWIW's. She rocked (in the other thread)!

If they aren't, we need to send her to congress fast.

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Updated On: 1/13/09 at 06:47 PM