John McCain takes no credit on bailout plan, leading to rare accord with Barack Obama

John McCain took a pass this morning on claiming any credit for the tentative deal congressional negotiators reached just a few hours earlier on a plan that aims to ride to the county's financial rescue.

Barack Obama was only too happy to agree with McCain's stance.

McCain, appearing on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," was asked by the host if he deserved some kudos, given his much-publicized "suspension" of his presidential campaign late last week to return to Washington to join in the jockeying over the bailout proposal.

"I'll let you and others be the judge of that," he replied.

He quickly added: "I wasn't going to phone it in. I'm a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I've got to get in the arena." (McCain had the 26th president — his role model — on his mind today; this was the first of three times he dropped his name in the interview.)

Summing up the role he played in the bailout talks, McCain said: "I won't claim a bit of credit, if that makes 'em happy."

Presumably, it pleased Obama.

Asked by Bob Schieffer on CBS' "Face the Nation" if his rival should be seen as a major player in the agreement on a plan, Obama had a one-word answer: "No."

— Don Frederick   

Comments

[edabe]

Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid had the power as leaders to do something about America’s national financial crisis over their last couple of years in Congress. Bush is responsible for signing bills into law, but Pelosi and Reid have the responsibility to set the country's legislative agenda and provide leadership to pass financial institution laws and banking regulations, but they both ignored the looming loan crisis until the very last minute. They failed our nation big time and should resign.

The senators and House leaders on the senate and house banking committee's should also resign because they failed to take action, when they were fully aware the country would eventually face a liquidity and banking crisis. They failed the nation along with the rest of the senate and house that relies on their banking committee to hold hearings, write banking laws and provide legislative oversight of our banking institutions.

The leadership in the White House - Bush, Senate - Harry Reid, House - Nancy Pelosi, and both Democrats and Republican's on the banking committees have failed to provide leadership and foresight to protect and regulate our nations financial system and institutions. Over the years Greenspan warned them that the increasing national debt was unsustainable that could lead to a national financial crisis if other countries lose confidence in our financial system and stop buying our national debt.

Congress just continues to overspend the nations money, give political favors to financial company's that give them political contributions, and add billions of dollars of earmarks for unneeded pork projects and possible fraud.

Did Congress and Bush really think they could run up the national debt forever and the rest of the world would continue to finance all of the nation's debt with a falling dollar? What about worthless American housing loan securities that they bought that are now becoming worthless? No! Now the world is slowly stopping to buy our debt and our nation may go bankrupt. Our only solution is to print more money to make up the difference, only leading to a lower dollar. This in turn may require the fed to increase interest rates to a premium to eventually attract more foreigners to buy more of our risky national debt due to a declining dollar at the expense of our own economy.

Bush, Pelosi and Reid had the legislative and executive power to prevent this nation’s financial crisis but they simply ignored it until the nations financial institutions practically crashed.

Now all American's will suffer, but they will now just continue to blame each other or the other political party, when they were all to blame.

Bush, Reid and Pelosi should all leave office because they over time allowed the nations financial crisis to evolve and continue to get worse until it practically crashed, all on their watch as national leaders. There is a reason that both Bush and Congress have low national approval ratings, it is because they as leaders they have failed to make American better over the years. If either Obama or McCain is elected both leaders in congress should step down so congress can start fresh with new House and Senate leadership so congress once again can gain the confidence and approval of the American public.

The "time of change is now" and we need national leaders to put the "country first" over party politics’ and corporate political donations influences that have led the country to the biggest country's financial crisis since the great depression.

Right now Obama and McCain should both be very involved with what congress is doing with the bailout because it is going to greatly impact their potential presidency in a few months and one of them will need to fix this country’s financial mess as president.

[phillip]

McCain shows class.
To bad MSM wont give him a credit for it.
Obama will take credit for everything what is popular, he even takes credit for success in Iraq right now even he didn't support troop increase.

[Lisa]

Lol McCain is unbelievable. Acting as though he is just being modest with an 'aw shucks' response to the bailout. 'Well yeah, it was all me, but don't worry guys I won't take credit.' When actually it was him who messed up plans the first time when he should have kept his nose out and not used it as an attempt to rescue his bombing campaign. Again, unbelievable.

[Amber]

McCain won't take credit because he knows that it won't work.

[Steve]

McCain: Country first! His ego doesn't require that he take any credit.

Obama: Obama first! Obama's ego insists his name be attached to it.

A sign of character!!!

BTW - Check this out: ClickOnObama.com

[Carracticus]

THEY GAVE MILLIONS OF MORTGAGE LOANS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS

GREED! BOTH PARTIES ARE EQUALLY TO BLAME FOR THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS!

With the bailout of mega investment business and banks on the front burner. Nobody dare mention, that illegal immigration is implicated in this financial catastrophe? HOW THE BAILOUT WAS CAUSED. www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1258/pub_detail.asp

Rep. Tancredo Demands Safeguards in any Economic Bailout
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) has demanded that any bailout of the finance industry should include safeguards that prevent the bank or lender from recouping funds spawning from their own fraudulent or dishonest activities.

Tancredo also wants to ensure that taxpayers do not provide assistance to illegal aliens who have lost their homes and do not absorb any bad debts owed to financial institutions. He maintains that these protections are a "must" for any bailout package.

Rep. Tancredo also wants legislation passed that would require banks to verify the legality of potential home buyers to ensure that illegal aliens do not benefit from federally backed home loans.

JOIN 756.000 other American patriots at www.numbersusa.com , to stop the travesty of our immigration laws. Learn about Immigration governmental corruption at www.judicialwatch.org

[ZipWizard in Vallejo]

I don't think negociators of the bailout should RESIGN. It's like being on a bus. If you don't have a license to drive it...how do you expect to get anywhere? The folks that got us into the mess are also the same folks that have to get us out of it. There is nobody else to do that...so if they resign...taxpayers will have another big disaster to solve...finding replacement talent to solve the impending problems facing this country. Mostly what has to be done is bailout the finacials in stages...then prints LOTS and lots of money.

[Stephen Dolle]

What I'd like to know is why neither candidate on Friday night took the opportunity to explain to the American people what this bailout is about, what's at stake, and what Congress hopes $700B could do?

Polls showed Americans were 30-35% unsure of why it is needed and how it will work. Would you not expect the same from a surgeon operating on your loved ones?

The candidates passed right over this and onto blame thru earmarks and taxes, and a convoluted debate on how to balance Wall Street vs Main Street. If you polled every American, you'd likely learn fewer than 50% of voters even understand such terms. What were the candidates thinking?

Finally, today on live news, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire nicely answered many of these questions. It appears they have come up with a workable plan. I can only hope this adequately treats most of the ills of our lending systems, because the alternative is a protracted RECESSION in YEARS.

[z]

If McCain was modest he would STOP SCREAMING and REMINDING us about his heroism.

The are thousands and thousands of families who are currently sacrificing for this country. They are not in our faces every day reminding us of their sacrifices and heroism.

These soldiers and their families are the Modest ones!!

[AspenFreePress]

Obama and McCain are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum with regard to the bailout package, in effect two Bush marionettes.
Sterling Greenwood
Aspen Free Press

[JudiNV]

Stephen Dolle, at the time of the debate, the bailout plan was still in major flux, and nobody knew exactly where it would end up.

Obama said this morning he is going to go over the language of the bill very carefully, once it is finalized. Obama taught constitutional law for 12 years, so I think he will be able to read the fine print and analyze it thoroughly.

[eric b]

Could everyone take a break from Cynicism for a moment and realize what is going on here. Barney Frank and Dodd are spinning blame all over and hoping that the presidential race will hide the fact that they were worse than asleep at the switch. They were complicit in this whole situation, they had a chance to reform Freddie and Fannie which are at the heart of this whole situation.

Wall Street was making money off of a pyramid scheme that the started with Fannie and Freddie, and it was Frank and Dodd that told Fannie and Freddie to do it then gave them the political cover to do it. They called it the CRA. These things always are caused by a perversion of supply and demand through government meddling, specifically partial deregulation.

The executive branch is called the executive branch because it executes the laws that are given to it by the legislative branch. It does not write the laws, that is congresses responsibility. Now lets indict them.

[Bob]

It doesn't matter who gets credit. Please urge congress to act immediately to pass this legislation.

http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/email/email4.cfm?id=132

The future of our economy is at stake.

[BJ]

Obama is an ambitious opportunist... nothing more, nothing less.

[Jay]

Sorry, Phillip, but McCain is showing anything but class. Folks with eyes, ears, and common sense won't be duped into thinking that he's being modest. We know that he did more to obstruct rather than facilitate the compromise deal. Though he claims to "country first," he's really putting his own ambition and self-interest above what's best for our country. Thank God that more and more Americans are seeing him for what he really is, not to mention the outrageously cynical and reckless judgment he has demonstrated by trying to put Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency. No, we're not buying it this time. We're going to put country first by electing Obama and Biden, and by sending McCain back to the Arizona desert and Palin back to Alaska and her $26 million road to nowhere.

[blair]

I think, that once this whole buyout starts moving along, showing it is a complete bust, Obama will regret claiming paticipation in drafting the legislation.

As McCain has said any number of times, Obama is lacking in judgement -- here is another example of same.

[ate mely]

Democrats like Dodd & Frank with Pelosi and Reed takes credit where credit is not due. Democrats created, enhanced and brought to the ground this mortgage credit mess. Democrats created these GSE's for the Raines, Johnson & Gorelick cronies MBS cash cow and swoon by investment bankers who contribute to Democrats till.

[Terry]

Jay, you say this about John McCain, "Though he claims to "country first," he's really putting his own ambition and self-interest above what's best for our country." I guess you can say that about every "donkey" in congress, especially the "fat cat lobbyists" Obama and Barney Frank (Fife). You probably also think that this law was a great idea. GET EDUCATED!!