And it says ... well, not much.:

“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.”

UPDATE: Commenter JoshZ gives us a link to Ambinder's account of what didn't make it into the statement. Which was, like, the substance.

CNN's Martina Stewart reports this from Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings, speaking to an audience of Jewish Democrats:

“If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida said at a panel about the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats Wednesday. Hastings, who is African-American, was explaining what he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the presidential race. “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through,” Hastings added as the room erupted in laughter and applause.

This morning you would've been hard pressed to find a Republican member of Congress supporting the bail out despite five days of heavy pressure from the likes of Dick Cheney, Henry Paulson, Jim Nussle and Josh Bolten. The caucus was in a virtual revolt over being forced to vote for a bill that pretty much stands against much of their own platform. Leaders were struggling to figure out how they would convince enough members to vote for the legislation. McCain's sudden suspension of his campaign and return to Washington to work on the bill comes as a welcome relief to many members of the House GOP caucus. "What it will do is show that there're some issues that should and do rise above polticial debate and I think it's appropriate that they come back and hunker down and that we get this thing taken care of," said Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican.

McCain's moves give a lot of panicked members who weren't going to bow to pressure from the White House or their own leadership the political cover they sought. But it also marries McCain to an incredibly unpopular bill and leaves the door open to Democrats, as they did this afternoon, to accuse McCain of playing politics and making "more drama" out of an already precarious situation, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, told me.

The move is a huge risk -- much like the Palin choice. It could turn the page for McCain on the economy, an issue where polls this week show Obama breaking away, or it could paint him the cynic willing to do anything to be elected. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi did their best to put McCain in a box on this bill and this certainly springs McCain from that the box but it might be a case of out of the frying pan and into the oven. Several sources on the Hill said they expect Bush tonight to call congressional leaders, including McCain and Obama, to the White House tomorrow to sit down and hammer out an agreement.

But leaders from the left and the right rejected the idea of McCain and Obama taking over the talks. When asked by reporters if he wanted McCain sitting in blow-by-blow negotiations Rep. Adam Putnam, the No. 3 House Republican, simply smirked, mute for ten seconds as reporters laughed. Democrats were more voiciferous in their rejection of McCain-Obama negotiations; New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 House Dem, both said if McCain had really cared where have he -- and his staff -- been in the negotiations thus far.

The situation is history making -- what happens when must-pass emergency legisaltion comes before an unpopular lame duck president? The answer blurs the lines between the executive and legislative branches. At the end of the day the bill will be passed but the cost for the GOP may be akin to the pain the Dems felt passing the 1993 budget for the rank-and-file GOP and McCain alike. And while we're on the subject of that tough vote, it's worth noting that that budget deal set the country on the path to surpluses and balanced books.

From TIME's Amy Sullivan:

McCain's let's-postpone-the-debate idea may not be a real possibility now that Obama has indicated he won't play ball. But here's a factor to consider with the proposal itself: by the time the next scheduled (or, as McCain would have it, "first") presidential debate takes place, 16 states will already be voting. That includes battlegrounds like Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. It's bad enough that voters in a half dozen states are casting ballots right now, before a single debate has been held and after only one opportunity to hear one of the vice-presidential candidates field questions from a reporter. It boggles the mind to think that almost one-third of the country could start voting before Obama and McCain have had the chance to engage directly with each other.

It may seem like the campaign has been going on forever, but up to now it has been limited to carefully-managed pep rallies, misleading attack ads, and a handful of Katie Couric questions. Cynics will argue that debates are only marginally better. But they do allow voters to hear from candidates on the most pressing issues--and, most importantly, for moderators and the candidates themselves to ask critical follow-up questions. It would be a shame if they started a slide into irrelevance, especially when viewership--60 million in 2004--is expected to be at an all-time high.

So John McCain comes out and says that he wants to "suspend" his campaign and put off the debate to deal with the economic crisis. This feeds his central campaign message--Country First--by making the case that McCain can rise above politics.

Early signs are that Obama is going to take this head on--he wants the debate to go on, and his advisers will try to paint McCain's attempt to rise above politics as nothing more than more-of-the-same politics. David Shuster on MSNBC just quoted a blind Obama source saying "The president should be able to multitask . . . . The only thing that has changed is McCain's standing in the polls."

Obama has not spoken yet, so we don't know how this will play out. But the indications are that both candidates think they have found an issue where they hold the winning hand. And they may both commit heavily to the pot. You can see it quickly unfold: Obama will claim that McCain is dodging debate and running scared. McCain will say that Obama is not willing to rise above politics. The debate over a bailout will become a debate over character. Congressional leaders will get involved, taking sides with their candidates. An economic crisis that needs less politics will be further politicized.

Both guys could bluff hard. But if my poker metaphor holds, only one will walk away a winner.

UPDATE: Obama just now in a presser says he wants to put aside partisan politics, but also debate on Friday. "With respect to the debates, it's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear form the person who in 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess. . . . In my mind, actually it's more important than ever that we present ourselves to the American people." He did not commit to come back to Washington, saying he did not want to "infuse Capitol Hill with presidential politics." It's a poker game, alright. And someone still might fold.

UPDATE TWO: The Obama campaign plays its opposition research card, after the jump.

(more...)

McCain suspends his campaign because of financial crisis? Oh please. Given today's poll numbers--even Fox has him dropping--it seems another Hail Mary (like the feckless selection of Palin) to try make McCain seem a statesman, which is difficult given the puerile tenor of his campaign's message operation.

Perhaps, if he's really interested in this financial stuff, McCain should propose that he and Obama change the topic from foreign policy to economics this Friday night--they could even stage the debate in Washington, so they wouldn't have to stray far from the bailout negotiations. I'm sure their fellow members of the Senate won't mind if McCain and Obama spend a few hours enlightening the public on this crucial subject.

Oh, and By the Way : I thought it was fairly gimmicky for the Obama campaign to reach out to McCain to make a joint statement of principles about the bailout, too. (Note to Commenters: I know that Obama's outreach to McCain was done privately, this morning--and I still think it was a bad idea. Obama has the advantage here: he has more credibility on the economy than McCain. If I were Obama, I'd also have some doubts about whether McCain, a career deregulator, really is philosophically committed to the greater government role that he is suddenly spouting.)

This statement from spokesman Bill Burton:

At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Senator McCain returned Senator Obama's call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details.

UPDATE: It seems there are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, it's going to be hard to get the votes to pass anything, unless the presidential contenders put their own political capital behind it. On the other, just about the last two people you would want in the room when a delicate deal is being cut are two guys who are in the middle of a very close and increasingly bitter presidential campaign. This should be interesting to watch.

Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me. I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem. We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis. I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so. Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

UPDATE: John McCain's planned appearence on David Letterman's show tonight has been cancelled, his campaign reports.

Breaking news from Reuters:

McCain says he will suspend campaign to return to Washingon Thursday to help with bailout negotiations, asks that Friday debate with Obama be postponed so bailout negotiations can continue.

Some odds and ends floating around the Hill today.

First, read along as our brave colleague Barbara Kiviat liveblogs Paulson and Bernanke's hearing with the House Banking Committee today.

Second, the House GOP is seriously balking at the bail out and without them it's going to be very tough getting anything through. As Tom Cole, head of the NRCC, told me this morning:

“Both McCain and Obama are exceptionally important to this, I don't think that anything will pass that both of them don't support. And frankly, I think there's a strong argument that this ought to begin on the other side of the rotunda. Frankly, two out of every three senators aren't up for reelection and three out of the four people on the national tickets sit in that body. One of them is going to be president.”

(Red State makes a good point on why so many GOP members are have having trouble swallowing this.)

Third, does anyone really believe that one of the most unpopular politicians in the country giving a speech on this will be the magic bullet that convinces Republicans to vote for the bail out?

Fourth, it's important to remember that there are two other moving parts on the Hill: the continuing resolution to fund the federal government through the election and a second stimulus package. I'm told that negotiations with the administration have included give and take from these as well.