Free Republic

Coburn calls Obama, McCain; urges joint statement on bailout "...Through his spokesman, Coburn, R-Muskogee, confirmed that he called Obama, an Illinois Democrat, and McCain, an Arizona Republican. John Hart, Coburn's spokesman, said Coburn "reached out to both Senators McCain and Obama last night to urge them to lead and set aside politics in order to help solve this serious financial crisis. "His goal was not necessarily to prescribe any course of action but to urge both senators to personally engage in the very difficult legislative negotiations unfolding in Congress. Decisions about how to proceed are up to the respective campaigns...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama and his team were caught off guard by John McCain's suspension of his campaign and his call to delay the first presidential debate so he could return to Capitol Hill to work on the financial crisis -- just as they were surprised when McCain tapped little-known Sarah Palin as his running mate. The Obama team has not figured out yet that McCain is waging an asymmetrical campaign, meaning at times he will take a risky, counterintuitive course, just as he did on Wednesday. The Obama campaign is very smart, but in the closing weeks...

NEW YORK (AP) — The economic crisis and raw politics threatened to derail the first presidential debate as John McCain challenged Barack Obama to delay Friday's event to work on the financial crisis. Obama rebuffed the plea, saying presidents need to "deal with more than one thing at once." The White House rivals maneuvered Wednesday to claim the leadership role in resolving the economic turmoil that has overshadowed their campaign. Obama said he would continue preparing for the debate and consulting with bailout negotiators and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. McCain said he would stop all campaigning and return to Washington...

“In my mind, it’s more important than ever that we present ourselves to the American people and describe where we want to take the country and where we want to take the economy,” said the Democratic candidate for the Presidency, Senator Barack Obama. The statement was given in response to Senator John McCain’s surprising announcement that he had suspended his campaign to focus on the looming financial crisis in America by returning to Washington to help craft and pass emergency legislation. McCain had invited his opponent to join him in returning to Washington to deal with the crisis. He also...