In response to John McCain’s suspension of his campaign and return to Washington to provide aid in the current economic mess, Barack Obama told reporters today:
When asked if he would be returning to Washington to work on legislation, Obama basically said “call me if you need me.” What a contrast between McCain and Obama.
Obama and the Democrats seem to believe that they can gain a political advantage, which is why Obama is calling for Friday’s debate (which is on foreign policy, not domestic policy) to continue in spite of the current crisis. Harry Reid is playing along: after first saying that the Democrats wouldn’t pass the Paulson bailout plan without John McCain’s support, he’s now saying that the debate is more important and that McCain shouldn’t show up to help (watch Reid’s statement on the Hot Air video).
Why is Reid changing his tune today? He’s trying to cover for Obama by creating a lose-lose situation for McCain: either McCain doesn’t show up, and the Democrats blame him for the bill not passing, or they spread the talking points that McCain doesn’t want to debate Obama (and this despite Obama dodging McCain’s offer all summer).
McCain has a real opportunity to draw positive attention in helping pass meaningful legislation, while Obama will be out on the campaign doing nothing but talking. Voters will notice this, especially independents, who are trending more towards McCain.
This is a bad move by Obama and the Democrats, and it will likely be costly when Americans see this contrast in leadership. It will only be worse when people realize that the people who are pointing their fingers at everyone else for this crisis are the same ones who were blocking meaningful reform of Fannie and Freddie, while protecting their own interests (e.g. Obama and Dodd).
UPDATE: Obama has accepted Bush’s invitation to return to Washington to help resolve the crisis. This does not, however, erase his initial reaction, and voters will not forget the contrast in the candidates’ reactions today.
UPDATE 2: See how the candidates spent their day after the debate; one candidate was on the phone with Congress trying to work on the bailout package, the other was back on the campaign trail promoting himself. More contrast indeed.
