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Bailout Bill Failure Shows McCain is Weak |
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Whatever your view on the financial bailout bill that the House of Representatives rejected earlier today, one thing was illustrated — that John McCain accomplished nothing by “suspending” his campaign last week. Remember, after getting President Bush to call that emergency White House meeting last Thursday, the Republicans wanted to show that John McCain was engaged in the issue and was doing the work of a leader to get it passed in the best possible way. He injected himself in an area where he has little expertise and implied that he was the reason that the bill was going to pass. From an interview with The Columbus Dispatch:
Dispatch : Some commentators criticized you for what they called erratic statements and actions last week heading into negotiations on rescuing the economy. Describe how you played a productive role in all this.
McCain: I’ll leave that up to others to make that judgment. This was an issue that was transcendent. I suspended my campaign and came back to Washington because I thought that it was vital to do so. Sen. Obama said (initially) he was available to discuss the issue by phone. I didn’t want to phone it in. I’m proud that we were able to get this done and I’ll give the credit to everybody else.
McCain has been ubiquitous in explaining that others should judge his role, but there is no question that he has been trying to make it appear as though it was his intervention that was critical. Here he is just this this morning taking credit for the bill – before it failed:
I put my campaign on hold for a couple days last week to fight for a rescue plan that put you and your economic security first. I fought for a plan that protected taxpayers, homeowners, consumers and small business owners.
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I went to Washington last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made on Wall Street and in Washington.
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Some people have criticized my decision, but I will never, ever be a president who sits on the sidelines when this country faces a crisis. Some of you may have noticed, but it’s not my style to simply “phone it in.”
Well in person you don’t seem to be doing any better, Senator McCain.
In truth this vote in the House shows just how little influence McCain has in his party caucus. Plus if you read accounts of that now infamous White House meeting, not only did McCain inject very little, but the meeting itself was probably ill-advised:
Pelosi said Obama would speak for the Democrats. Though later he would pepper Paulson with questions, according to a Republican in the room, his initial point was brief: “We’ve got to get something done.”
Bush turned to McCain, who joked, “The longer I am around here, the more I respect seniority.” McCain then turned to Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to speak first. …
Obama then jumped in to turn the question on his rival: “What do you think of the [insurance] plan, John?” he asked repeatedly. McCain did not answer.
One Republican in the room said it was clear that the Democrats came into the meeting with a “game plan” aimed at forcing McCain to choose between the administration and House Republicans. “They had taken McCain’s request for a meeting and trumped it,” said this source.
It was clear that John McCain injected himself for a photo op and to politicize the process. the Democrats took it seriously. And it has become obvious that John McCain did not know what to do when things turned serious. John McCain not only was not able to help teh process, but he may have actually harmed it.
If John McCain can not lead his own party in a time of crisis, how does he expect to lead the country?
