McCain, Obama split over delaying debate

NEW YORK -- The fate of Friday's planned presidential debate between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama was thrown in the air Wednesday, after McCain called for delaying the session so the two could concentrate on resolving the nation's financial crisis. Obama said he wants the debate to go on.

McCain will not participate in the debate unless a deal is reached on a bailout measure for financial markets, close adviser Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told USA TODAY. At a news conference, Obama said the debate was more important than ever.

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time that the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess, and I think that it is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once," he said.

But McCain said he would return to Washington on Thursday and had asked President Bush to convene a leadership meeting on the crisis that would include him and Obama.

On Wednesday evening, Bush invited McCain, Obama and congressional leaders to the White House on Thursday in hopes of securing a deal on a financial bailout. An Obama spokesman said the senator would attend.

Shortly thereafter, McCain and Obama issued a joint statement on the financial crisis. They said the $700 billion plan the administration has proposed to bail out the financial industry is flawed, but that the effort to protect the U.S. economy must not fail.

McCain's announcement came after the two candidates held private talks about joining forces to address the Wall Street meltdown. The Obama campaign said the Democrat initiated the talks, but McCain beat Obama to the punch with the first public statement calling for the two to rise above politics in a time of crisis.

McCain said the Bush administration's plan seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution was urgently needed.

"It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal," McCain said. "I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time."

Obama said the debate could be held and the candidates could deal with the financial crisis simultaneously.

Late Wednesday, the Commission on Presidential Debates said in a statement that it is moving forward with plans for Friday's debate. The University of Mississippi, which is set to host the event, said it too was moving ahead with preparations because it had "received no notification of any change in the timing or venue."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, the top Senate Democrat, also called for the debate to go on.

"It would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy," Reid said in a statement issued by his office. "If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership, not a campaign photo op."

The Obama campaign said in a statement that Obama had called McCain around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to propose that they issue a joint statement in support of a package to help fix the economy as soon as possible. McCain called back six hours later and agreed to the idea of the statement, the Obama campaign said. McCain's statement was issued to the media a few minutes later.

"We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved," McCain said. "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."

McCain said if Congress does not pass legislation to address the crisis, credit will dry up, people will no longer be able to buy homes, life savings will be at stake and businesses will not have enough money.

"If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted," McCain said. "We cannot allow this to happen."

McCain also canceled his planned appearance Wednesday on CBS' Late Show With David Letterman program.

A senior McCain adviser, Mark Salter, said the campaign would suspend all advertising and campaign events until a workable deal is reached on the bailout proposal — but only if the Obama campaign agrees to do the same.

Obama said he last talked to McCain on Wednesday afternoon, and that the request for delaying the debate was "something he (McCain) was mulling over."

He said he talked to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson twice Wednesday. "I indicated to him that I would do everything I can to be helpful," Obama said.

Contributing: Associated Press; Kathy Kiely in Washington; Randy Lilleston in McLean, Va.